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The    Early   Exploration   of 
Louisiana.' 


A  Thesis  Presented  to  the  Faculty  of  the  Department  of 
Philosophy  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
in  Partial  Fulfillment  of  the  Require- 
ments for  the  Deg-ree  of  Doctor 
of  Philosophy. 


By  ISAAC  JOSLIN  COX,  Ph.  D., 

Instructor  in  History,  University  of  Cincinnati;   Sometime  Holder 

of  the  Harrison  Fellowship  in  American  History,  University 

of  Pennsylvania;  Fellow  of  the  Texas  State  Historical 

Association;   Kditor  of   "  The  Journeys   of 

L*a  Salle  and  his  Companions", 

etc.,  etc. 


1906 

University  of  Cincinnati  Prbss 

Cincinnati,  Ohio 


•  ••••••»•»" 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 
PREFACE. 

'.^.-^/Chapter  I. — The  Titk  and  Its  Definition. 

^Chapter  II. — Preparing  to  Exp6re  the  Missouri. 
H^hapter  III. — Lewis  and  Clark  on  the  Missouri. 
u^ Chapter  IV. — Jefferson's  Plan  for  Exploring  Louisiana. 

—  Chapter  V. — The  Hunter-Dunbar  Expedition  up  the  Washita. 
^^..^  Chapter  VI. — A  Leader  and  a  Passport  for  the  Red  River 

Expedition. 

—  Chapter    VII. — Spanish    Expeditions    Along    the    Louisiana 
Border. 

Chapter  VIII.— The  Bid  for  the  Support  of  the  Red  River 
Indians. 

Chapter  IX. — Freeman's  Red  River  Expedition. 

Chapter  X. — Pike  on  the  Upper  Mississippi. 
'-  Chapter  XL — Wilkinson,  Pike,  and  the  Southwest. 

Chapter  XII. — Opening  the  Santa  Pe  Trail. 

Chapter  XI 11. — Pike  on  the  Mexican  Border. 

Chapter  XIV. — The  Diplomatic  Correspondence  of  Louisiana 
Exploration. 

Chapter  XV. — Summary  and  Conclusion. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
MAPS. 

( 1 )  Map  to  Illustrate  General  Exploration  of  Louisiana. 

Frontispiece. 

(2)  Map  of  the  Washita  and  Lower  Red  River. 

Facing  Chapter  V^ 


5 

230185 


PREFACE. 

The  work  of  which  this  present  monograph  is  a  result  repre- 
sents but  one  essential  part  of  an  extensive  study  of  the  frontiers 
of  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  during-  the  years  from  its  acquisition 
to  its  delimitation,  following  the  Treaty  of  1819.  As  in  so  many 
similar  cases.  I  approached  the  subject  with  a  view  to  make  a  study 
of  the  whole  of  the  period  above  mentioned ;  but  with  the  accum- 
ulation of  material  I  was  obliged  to  contract  the  field  until  the 
work  assumed  the  present  form  and  title.  Despite  the  multitude 
of  individual  studies  and  general  publications  called  forth  by  the 
centennial  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  I  believe  that  the  following 
monograph  will  justify  its  appearance  as  a  fairly  exhaustive 
survey  of  some  unfamiliar  phases  occurring  in  our  expansion  to 
the  westward. 

In  approaching  the  subject  of  Louisiana  Exporation,  even 
from  the  restricted  standpoint  assumed,  I  have  found  it  impossible 
to  avoid  extended  treatment  of  the  work  of  Lewis  and  Clark  and 
of  Pike;  but,  in  view  of  the  voluminous  monographs  devoted  to 
these  great  pathfinders,  I  have  endeavored  to  make  this  treatment 
a  grouping  of  essential  facts  and  an  emphasis  upon  certain  phases 
of  their  work,  rather  than  a  detailed  resume  of  their  undertakings. 
With  reference  to  the  minor  expeditions,  of  which  the  details  are 
little  known,  I  have  adopted  a  somewhat  different  course,  but  in 
both  cases  I  have  attempted  to  suggest  broad  lines  of  national 
policy,  rather  than  insignificant,  though  interesting  details  of 
frontier  exploration. 

In  studying  the  careers  of  the  three  great  explorers  just  men- 
tioned, I  have  derived  immense  advantage  from  the  previous  labors 
of  the  late  Dr.  Elliot  Coues  and  Dr.  Reuben  Gold  Thwaites — an 
advantage  to  which  my  footnotes  abundantly  attest.  In  the  study 
of  Lewis  and  Clark  1  have  unfortunately  had  opportunity  to  use 
only  the  first  five  volumes  of  the  "Original  Journals,''  which  are 
now  appearing  under  the  editorship  of  Dr.  Thwaites.  For  the 
Hunter-Dunbar  expeditions  I  have  had  the  use,  not  merely  of  the 


recently  printed  Dunbar  'J^^^^J^^V'  ^"t  ^^^^  ^^  the  manuscript 
journal  of  Dr.  George  Hunter,  now  in  possession  of  the  American 
Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia.  Through  the  kindness  of 
the  Secretary,  Dr.  1.  Minis  Plays,  I  was  permitted  to  examine  it. 

One  of  the  principal  features  of  the  present  study  is  the  view, 
as  I  believe,  now  first  afforded,  of  the  Spanish  side  of  Louisiana 
exploration.  Two  important  manuscript  sources  have  been  used, 
the  Bexar  Archives  and  the  New  Mexico  Archives.  The  latter 
collection  is  now  housed  in  the  Library  of  Congress,  where  it  is 
readily  accessible  to  students.  The  former  collection  is  much 
more  extensive,  but  because  of  its  location  and  unorganized  con- 
dition has  heretofore  been  little  known.  It  is  now  in  possession 
of  the  University  of  Texas,  Austin,  Texas,  and  is  being  classified 
under  the  direction  of  Professor  George  P.  Garrison.  At  present, 
however,  it  is  impossible  to  make  more  exact  citations  than  are 
used  in  this  work.  Although  I  have  personally  worked  upon  this 
collection,  most  of  the  material  herein  used  was  furnished  by  my 
friend  and  co-worker,  Dr.  Walter  Flavins  McCaleb,  who  has  thus 
emphasized  his  friendship  and  interest  in  historical  production. 

In  addition  to  these  two  important  collections,  I  have  likewise 
made  use  of  the  Claiborne  Correspondence,  six  volumes  of  manu- 
scripts in  the  Bureau  of  Library  and  Rolls  of  the  State  Depart- 
ment; the  Wilkinson  Papers,  through  the  courtesy  of  the  Board 
of  Directors  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society;  and  the  Jefferson 
Papers,  now  in  the  Library  of  Congress.  To  a  limited  extent 
only,  because  the  various  expeditions  provoked  comparatively 
little  diplomatic  correspondence,  I  have  also  profited  by  an  exam- 
ination of  the  files  of  the  Bureau  of  Indexes  and  Archives  in  the 
State  Department.  I  have  also  made  use  of  certain  material  from 
the  Archivo  General  of  the  City  of  Mexico,  a  valuable  collection 
almost  unknown  to  the  historical  world.  The  bibliography,  as 
well  as  the  footnotes,  will  make  mention  of  other  minor  manu- 
script sources. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  mention  the  long  list  of  libraries,  both 
public  and  private,  from  which,  during  the  past  two  years,  I  have 
received  courteous  attention  and  valuable  aid.  It  is  but  just  to 
acknowledge  the  personal  interest  of  Professor  J.  B.  McMaster 
and  the  timely  suggestions  and  assistance  of  Professor  H.  V. 
Ames — both  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.     From  Professor 


Merrick  Whitcomb,  of  the  University  of  Cincinnati,  I  have  re- 
ceived innumerable  courtesies  in  preparing  the  work  for  the  Uni- 
versity Press.  To  my  pupil  and  friend,  F.  J.  Goldenberg,  I  am 
indebted  for  the  maps,  adapted  from  those  accompanying  Pike's 
Account  of  an  Expedition. 

ISAAC  JOSLIN  COX. 

University  of  Cincinnati,  January  i6,  1906. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  TITLE  AND  ITS  DEFINITION. 

The  title  of  this  monograph,  "The  Early  Exploration  of 
Louisiana/'  calls  for  a  concise  interpretation  of  its  time  limit  and 
its  geographical  setting.  Our  first  task,  then,  will  be  to  discuss 
briefly  these  essential  points. 

The  name  ''Louisiana"  has  been  applied  to  an  uncertain  terri- 
torial claim,  to  an  equally  ill-defined  colonial  jurisdiction,  to  the 
largest  territorial  acquisition  of  the  United  States,  to  a  territory 
comprising  the  greater  portion  of  this  acquisition,  and  finally  to  a 
State  of  che  American  LTnion.  In  its  widest  extent  it  embraced 
nearly  a  third  of  the  North  American  contient ;  in  its  most  re- 
stricted use — that  which  is  current  at  the  present  day — it  embraces 
a  relatively  small  fraction  of  our  Union.  Naturally  such  a  term 
requires  a  careful  definition,  both  as  to  place  and  time,  in  order  to 
be  carefully  understood.  At  the  outset  it  may  eliminate  confusion 
to  state  that  the  writer  intends  to  confine  his  present  study  to  the 
years  1803  to  1807,  inclusive,  and  that  he  will  accordingly  use  the 
term  "Louisiana"  with  the  signification  that  it  ordinarily  bore 
during  that  period.  For  the  most  part,  the  people  of  that  day 
regarded  the  name  as  applicable  to  the  whole  of  our  great  pur- 
chase from  France.  It  is  true  that,  in  1804,  the  portion  compris- 
ing almost  all  of  the  present  State  of  Louisiana  was  set  apart  as  a 
separate  territory,  under  the  name  of  Orleans,  while  the  rest  of 
the  purchase  retained  the  original  name.  But  this  division,  fo«|. 
political  purposes  merely,  did  not  for  many  years  destroy  th^ 
unified  view  with  which  President  and  people  regarded  our  great 
acquisition. 

The  name  "Louisiana,"  then,  will  be  used  to  designate  the 
whole  of  that  vast  territorial  expanse  acquired  from  Napoleon  in 
1803;  but  even  a  statement  apparently  so  simple  as  this  does  not 
remove  every  difficulty  of  definition.  Statesmen  and  historians 
from  Jefferson's  day  to  the  present  time  have  never  agreed  con- 
cerning the  exact  limits  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase.     Although  it 


is  not  scientific  to  adopt  an  arbitrary  interpretation  without  stat- 
ing the  reasons  that  have  led  to  it;  yet,  as  the  limits  of  this  study 
will  not  permit  such  a  detailed  statement,  while  clearness  requires 
rigid  definition  of  the  terms  used,  the  writer  ventures  to  give  his 
opinion  in  a  negative  and  somewhat  arbitrary  form.  According 
to  his  interpretation,  the  ''Louisiana  Purchase"  does  not  include 
Texas,  West  Florida,  or  any  territory  west  of  the  Continental 
Divide.! 

The  history  of  Spanish,  French,  and  English  settlements  and 
explorations  for  some  two  and  a  half  centuries  previous  to  our 
acquisition  supports  this  interpretation.  In  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries,  the  vast  region  drained  by  the  Mississippi 
formed  part  of  that  uncertain  domain  which  Spain  claimed  as 
"Florida."  From  the  southeast  discoverers  of  this  nation  had 
approached  and  crossed  this  mighty  river,  while  from  the  south- 
west others  had  reached  some  of  its  important  tributaries;  but 
there  was  no  effective  occupation  of  any  portion  of  the  great  cen- 
tral valley.  Finally,  in  the  midst  of  this  native  wilderness,  de- 
serted by  the  inefficient  Spaniards,  appeared  the  intrepid  La  Salle, 
and  aroused  them,  in  a  measure,  from  their  lethargy.  But  it  was 
too  late  to  preserve  intact  the  region  that  sloth  had  been  content 
to  leave  to  native  barbarism.  From  the  north  La  Salle  pressed 
the  wedge  of  French  occupation,  thrusting  Florida  apart  from  the 
base  of  effective  support  on  the  mainland,  and  destroying  the 
cherished  plan  of  making  the  Mexican  Gulf  a  closed  sea.  This 
event  marks  the  first  step  in  that  continental  expansion  which 
finally  deprived  Spain  of  her  colonies  and  divided  her  territories 
among  the  nations. 

The  early  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  beheld  the  French 
firmly  established  upon  the  Gulf  coast  and  in  control  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi River.  Within  three  decades  their  colonial  officials  had 
settled  the  problem,  of  neighborhood  with  their  Spanish  rivals.  In 
the  east,  the  Perdido,  a  small  stream  midway  between  Mobile  and 
Pensacola,  was  observed  by  the  local  authorities  as  the  limit  of 
their  respective  jurisdictions.  In  the  west,  the  Arroyo  Hondo, 
an*  unimportant  bayou  west  of  Natchitoches,  answered  the  same 
purpose.     Neither  of  the  home  governments  formally  ratified  the 


1.     See  map,  Frontispiece. 

10 


work  of  its  subordinates,  nor  did  this  local  delimitation  affect,  in 
any  measure,  the  vast  interior  watered  by  the  Mississippi  and  its 
tributaries.  By  1720,  the  French  had  begun  to  advance  up  the 
Missouri.  This  movem.ent  provoked  the  Spaniards  to  send  from 
New  Mexico  a  counter  expedition,  which  met  an  overwhelming 
defeat  at  the  hands  of  the  Pawnees.^  This  repulse  left  the  French 
in  undisputed  control  of  the  fur  trade  of  the  lower  Missouri. 

Before  another  score  of  years  elapsed  these  adventurous  fur 
traders  passed  to  the  upper  course  of  the  Missouri,  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Mandan  Indians ;  and  breaking  a  new  pathway  to  the  south- 
west, they  penetrated  from  the  Missouri  and  Platte  to  Santa  Pe.'^ 
These  incursions,  however,  were  in  no  way  adequately  followed 
up ;  so  that  at  the  close  of  the  French  regime  in  Louisiana,  neither 
they  nor  the  Spaniards  had  effectually  occupied  the  interior,  while 
near  the  Gulf  coast  a  few  straggling  settlements  formed  all  that 
was  tangible  of  two  uncertain  colonial  jurisdictions,  separated  by 
tentative  lines  of  little  legal  or  diplomatic  significance. 

When  in  1763,  Spain  and  England  divided  the  bulk  of  the 
American  continent,  the  former  obtained  the  major  portion  of 
what  the  French  had  claimed  as  Louisiana.  This  acquisition  the 
Spanish  crown  regarded  as  separate  from  the  rest  of  its  colonial 
dominions  in  America,  and  proceeded  to  treat  it  as  such.  Its 
evident  purpose  was  to  use  the  new  territory  as  a  buffer  between 
its  English  neighbors  and  the  more  important  interior  provinces 
of  Mexico.  Accordingly,  during  this  period,  we  find  that  those 
Spanish  writers  who  treat  the  subject  at  all,  emphasize  the  former 
local  barriers,  which,  in  their  estimation,  still  continued  to  separate 
Spanish  and  French  Creoles.  * 

For  a  few  years  the  westward  tide  of  English  migration  at- 
tracted but  little  notice  and  called  forth  but  few  warnings;  but 
v/hen,  with  the  waning  of  the  century,  the  English  tide  became 
an  Anglo-American  flood,  a  far  different  problem  confronted  the 
lethargic  Spanish  officials.     In  the  north  the  stream  of  British 


2.  Historia  43,  Opusculo  I,  Par.  15,  55,  Archive  General,  Mexico 
City;  Bandelier,  A.  ^..Papers  of  the  Archae  logical  Institute  of  America, 
V,  179-206. 

3.  Marg-ry,  Ddcouvertes  et  Etablissemenfs  des  Francais,  etc.,  VI, 
426-464;  598-611. 

4.  Cf.  Historia  43,  Opusculo  I,  Par.  30;  find.  Document  LXXIIf, 
Par.  18,  19. 

11 


fur  traders,  pushing  steadily  to  the  west  and  southwest,  by  1790 
rendered  the  control  of  strategic  positions  on  the  Pacific  a  matter 
of  international  importance.  The  work  of  these  same  traders 
upon  the  headwaters  of  the  Mississippi  and  of  the  Missouri  was 
much  less  noticeable,  but  it  served  to  present  another  problem  to 
the  new  possessor  of  Louisiana,  when  that  province  finally  passed 
into  American  hands.  The  Spaniards  made  some  futile  attempts 
to  control  the  fur  trade,  and  the  allegiance  of  the  natives  as  well, 
along  the  middle  course  of  the  Missouri  and  its  tributaries;  but 
even  in  this  region,  before  the  close  of  the  century,  British  industry 
was  beginning  to  obtain  a  foothold.  At  this  period,  then,  from  a 
British  base  in  the  north  and  a  Spanish  base  in  the  south  and  south- 
west, there  emanated  two  opposing  currents  of  influence  that 
passed  from  one  Indian  tribe  to  another  until  finally  they  met  near 
the  head  waters  of  the  Missouri.  Here  the  first  representatives 
of  a  third  and  finally  controlling  factor — the  American — encoun- 
tered them  on  their  journey  to  the  Pacific. 

I  Meanwhile,  the  stream  of  American  migration  that  was  begin- 
ijiing  to  sweep  through  Louisiana  and  to  threaten  Texas,  by  way 
of  the  Red  and  Washita  Rivers,  became  more  disquieting  to  Span- 
ish officials,  because  less  understood  and  harder  to  control.  The 
leading  spirits  of  this  m.ovement  became  managers  of  plantations, 
owners  of  cattle  ranches,  horse-traders,  and  Indian  factors,  and 
in  many  other  ways  urged  the  development  of  the  natural  re- 
sources of  the  country.  But  the  suspicious  Spaniards  saw  in 
them  only  the  first  tide  of  an  American  invasion,  destined  ulti- 
mately to  sweep  over  all  Mexico."  It  is  to  be  confessed  that  in 
the  actions  of  Philip  Nolan,  the  chief  representative  of  this  move- 
ment and  a  protege  of  General  James  Wilkinson,  of  unsavory  rep- 
utation, there  was  abundant  justification  for  the  fears  of  these 
Mexican  officials.  Oddly  enough  Jeflferson,  Wilkinson,  and 
Dunbar,  who  later  figure  so  prominently  in  the  following  pages, 
first  approach  the  subject  of  Louisiana  exploration  through  this 
I  arly  pioneer,  Nolan.*' 

So  it  happened  that  when  in  1803,  JeflFerson  at  length  began, 


5.  Gayarr6,  History  of  Louisiana,  III,  183,  407,  408. 

6.  Wilkinson,  Memoirs  //,  App.  II,  passim.  Some  interesting 
letters  concerning-  Nolan  are  printed  in  Texas  Historical  Quarterly, 
VII,  308-317. 


12 


in  a  fairly  adequate  manner,  the  subject  of  trans- Mississippi  ex- 
ploration, the  outskirts  of  the  great  district  of  Louisiana  had  been 
lightly  fringed  by  Spanish,  French,  and  English  influences.  But 
of  the  great  interior  there  existed  no  definite  knowledge;  and  it 
was  into  this  interior  that  he  was  privileged  to  send  the  first  expe- 
ditions for  the  scientific  exploration„of  Louisiana — a  Louisiana 
very  slightly  limited,  as  we  have  already  stated,  by  two  and  a  half 
centuries' of  ineffectual  colonial  influence. 

The  time  element  of  our  subject  next  requires  some  explana- 
tion. What  definite  period  is  meant  by  the  term  "Early  Explor- 
ation"? It  was  not  until  January,  1803,  that  a  plan  for  western 
discovery  under  government  auspices  promised  any  degree  of 
success.  It  was  in  July,  1807,  that  Pike  returned  from  his  famous 
Mexican  tour.  The  intervening  three  and  a  half  years,  then, 
comprise  the  period  of  this  study — the  period  during  which  Lewis 
and  Clark,  Pike,  Hunter  and  Dunbar,  Freerpan,  and  Sibley  re- 
corded their  names  in  the  annals  of  Louisiana  exploration.  This 
was  the  period  not  only  of  "early"  exploration,  but  of  the  most 
important  work  in  that  field,  so  far  as  the  government  was  con- 
cerned. With  one  important  exception,  it  was  the  only  time  for 
two  decades  after  the  purchase  that  the  government  encouraged 
direct  public  exploration  at  its  own  expense  within  its  new  acquisi- 
tion. Between  1807  and  1820  practically  all  western  exploration, 
merely  for  its  own  sake,  was  done  by  individual  scientists  or  fur 
traders ;  and  the  former  were  in  most  cases  dependent  upon  the 
latter  for  their  opportunities. 

Thus  the  brief  period  selected  for  this  study  embraces  nearly 
all  government  effort  at  exploration,  before  our  treaty  with  Spain 
gave  a  definite  western  limit  to  our  new  acquisition.  It  is  need- 
less to  say  that  this  fact  gives  the  period  a  certain  additional  unity, 
if  such  were  necessary  to  justify  its  selection. 

The  personal  element  in  this  early  exploration  requires  a 
somewhat  detailed  treatment*  To  say  that  JeflFerson's  name  is 
indissolubly  linked  with  the  Louisiana  Purchase  is  but  to  repeat  a 
historical  truism.  His  connection  with  the  famous  Lewis  and 
Clark  expedition  is  almost  equally  well  known ;  although  the  com- 
paratively slight  connection  in  the  beginning  between  this  expe- 
dition and  the  Purchase  is  but  just  beginning  to  be  poularly  un- 
derstood.      Jefferson's  connection  with  Pike's    exploits,    though 

13 


remote,  has  at  least  been  pointed  out  by  interested  students.  Very 
few,  even  the  latter,  know  of  his  intimate  connection  with  the 
txplorations  of  Hunter  and  Dunbar,  of  Sibley,  and  of  Freeman, 
on  the  Washita  and  Red  Rivers;  or  of  the  importance  in  the 
President's  mind  of  the  work  of  these  men,  and  of  the  part  their 
efforts  were  to  play  in  his  far  reaching  but  never  realized  plan  of 
exploration. 

If  it  is  not  necessary  to  give  here  a  detailed  summary  of  Jef- 
ferson's connection  with  Louisiana  exploration,  it  is  needful  to 
differentiate  the  work  of  the  men  who,  in  a  partial  degree  at  least, 
performed  this  task.  Meriwether  Lewis  and  William  Clark  were 
engaged  ^o  explore  a  route  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific 
coasJ^All  plans  we'rFTormed  and  instructions  given  before  tj)e 
/Sfficial  tidings  of  the  purchase  reached  Jefferson.  Louisiana  ex- 
l)loration,  as  such,  formed  with  them  only  a  secondary  task.  Dr. 
John  Sibley,  of  North  Carolina,  migrated  to  Louisiana  early  in 
1803,  ^^^  while  the  country  was  still  a  Spanish  possession,  made 
a  personal  investigation  of  the  Red  River  as  far  as  the  vicinity  of 
Natchitoches,  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  a  suitable  spot  to  locate 
as  a  ranchman.  After  the  transfer  he  received  an  appointment 
as  Surgeon's  mate  in  the  army,  and  later  as  Indian  agent ;  and  as 
public  official,  turned  into  government  channels  the  information 
he  had  gained  for  private  ends. 

William  Dunbar,  George  Hunter,  and  Thomas  Freeman  par- 
ticipated in  Jefferson's  special  plan  for  the  exploration  of 
Louisiana — a  plan  directly  conceived  by  the  President  and  urged 
by  him  and  his  supporters  for  the  express  purpose  of  learning 
about  our  new  territorial  acquisition.  Although  this  plan  was 
apparently  the  least  successful  of  all  in  point  of  view  of  actual 
achievement,  yet  this  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  reflection  upon  the 
originator  or  his  agents.  Finally,  there  are  the  two  expeditions 
of  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike,  a  young  lieutenant  acting  as  the 
agent  of  the  notorious  James  Wilkinson.  The  latter  as  com- 
mander in  chief  of  the  American  army  was  immediately  respon- 
sible for  Pike's  work;  but  in  important  details  it  was  in  accord 
with  Jefferson's  general  scheme,  and  the  latter  virtually  assumed 
the  position  as  sponsor  for  it. 

Among  the  important  explorers  of  this  period,  then,  there  will 
be  found  but  three  who  were  directly  authorized  by  the  President 

14 


for  the  express  purpose  of  exploring  Louisiana,  and  these  three 
are  by  no  means  the  leading  members  of  the  group.  Neverthe- 
less, the  efforts  of  all  contributed  to  the  same  end,  and  the  aggre- 
gate of  information  acquired  was  considerable,  and  at  the  time, 
of  the  utmost  importance*  It  is  interesting  to  see  how  these  expe- 
ditions, differing  so  greatly  in  plan  and  in  personnel,  were  all  used 
by  Jefferson  to  serve  his  particular  purpose.  It  is  this  genius  for 
the  utilization  of  the  efforts  of  divers  men  and  of  differing  oc- 
casions, for  the  gathering  of  scientific  grapes  from  the  thorns  of 
apparently  fruitless  explorations,  that  constituted  the  great  serv- 
ice of  the  President,  and  made  both  the  conception  of  the  plan 
and  its  inadequate  but  well-advertised  realization  his  peculiar 
work. 

Furthermore,  each  man  who  was  engaged  in  this  task  of 
frontier  exploration  knew  that  while  actually  working  in  his  par- 
ticular field  the  President  had  an  intense  personal  interest  in  him, 
and  would  read  with  avidity  each  scrap  of  information  that  he 
furnished.  This  interest,  which  never  flagged  until  the  published 
results  were  given  to  the  world,  identified  the  President  with  the 
individual  explorer,  and  in  a  double  measure  with  the  sum  total 
of  the  exporation  for  the  period. 

It  was  but  natural  that  work  undertaken  under  such  varying 
auspices  should  fail  to  produce  the  thorough  results  at  first  ex- 
pected. Nevertheless,  in  addition  to  the  geogTaphicaL_aiid  kin- 
dred  knowledge  acquired,  in  addition  to  the  impression — all  too 
uncertairi^made  upon  the  Indians  visited,  these  various  expedi- 
tions pointed  out  the  three  main  currents  of  American  migration  to 
the  westward.  Lewis  and  Clark  may  be  regarded  as  the  originators 
of  the  Missouri-Columbia  trail  which  afterward  became  the  more 
important  Missouri-California  pathway.  Pike  emphasized,  al- 
though he  did  not  point  out,  the  Santa  Pe  trail — the  second  im- 
portant highway  to  the  far  Southwest.  The  others  participated 
in  the  pp^ning;^  fl^w_^of_Jthat_Jmma  which  was  later  to 

sweep  over  Texas;  whose  first  tiny  filibustering  rivulets  were  to 
be  dissipafed  in  inhospitable  deserts,  but  whose  later  currents 
were  to  swell  to  a  flood  sweeping  the  whole  Southwest  irresistibly 
towards  annexation.  It  was  something  to  have  defined  these 
three  great  currents  of  western  migration,  and  this  was  one  im- 
portant accomplishment  of  early  Louisiana  exploration. 

15 


CHAPTER  IT. 

PREPARING  TO  EXPLORE  THE  MISSOURI. 

Although  intimately  associated  with  the  Louisiana  Purchase, 
the  famous  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition  owed  its  existence  to 
motives  of  a  far  different  source.  Its  inception  was  due  to  Jef- 
ferson's zeal  in  the  pursuit  of  scientific  studies,  and  its  realization 
to  an  important  change  in  the  Indian  trading  policy  of  the  na- 
tional government.  Thus  science  and  commerce,  philosophical 
speculatioii  and  practical  business  joined  hands  in  promoting  this, 
the  most  important  and  most  successful  exploration  in  our  coun- 
try's history. 

Jefferson  early  became  interested  in  the  exploration  of  the 
northwest  coast  of  America.  On  December  4,  1783,  he  wrote  to 
George  Rogers  Clark, ^  su^g^^stmg  the  overland  .route.,  from  ..the 
Mississippi  to  the  Pacific  as  a  field  for  his  ambition,  with  a  view 
to  forestall  possible  British .  rivalry.  Three  years  later,  while 
Minister  to  France,  he  impressed  upon  John  Ledyard^  the  possi- 
bility of  opening  communication  with  the  Missouri  from  the 
Pacific,  and  that  adventurous  Connecticut  traveler  almost  spanned 
the  eastern  continent  before  Catharine  II*  igominiously  forced  him 
him  to  retrace  his  steps  from  Kamtchatka.  As  a  member  of 
Washington's  cabinet,  Jefferson  was  the  official  supporter,  in  be- 
half of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia,  of 
Andre  Michaux's  scheme  to  visit  the  Missouri  and  the  Oregon 
(Columbia),  and  issued  instructions  to  the  French  botanist^  that 
greatly  resemble  those  given  ten  years  later  to  Lewis.  Michaux, 
however,  was  turned  from  his  purpose  to  assist  in  the  intrigues 
of  Genet  for  the  invasion  of  the  Spanish  colonies;  and  with  the 
recall  of  that  French  Minister  passed  to  other  fields  of  exploration^ 

For  a  decade  Jefferson  allowed  his  scheme  to  slumber,  but  did 
not  forget  it.     At  last  the  opportunity  came  to  voice  his  interest 


1.  Thwaites,  Rocky  Mountain  Exploration,  68. 

2.  Ford,  Writifigs  of  Jefferson,  I,  94-%. 

3.  Ford,  VI,  158-161. 


16 


in  the  great  northwest,  in  the  confidential  message  of  January  i8, 
1803.*  The  immediate  occasion  for  the  expression  of  his  views 
was  the  act  to  continue  government  trading  houses  among  the 
Indians.  Because  of  its  policy  in  furnishing  goods  to  the  natives 
at  actual  cost,  the  government  was  supposedly  a  competitor  of 
private  individuals.^  Jefferson  suggested  that  if  Congress  voted 
to  continue  the  policy,  the  attention  of  these  might  profitably  be 
turned  to  the  Missouri,  then  monopolized  by  British  traders.  He 
diplomatically  pointed  out  that  to  inaugurate  this  policy  with  sue* 
cess,  a  small  force  must  be  sent  to  make  a  thorough  exploration 
of  the  country  as  far  as  the  Pacific,  and  to  form  treaties  with  the 
Indian  tribes  along  the  route.  By  utilizing  enlisted  men  an  ap- 
propriation of  $2,500  would  cover  the  expense  of  the  expedition, 
and  the  title  "An  act  for  the  purpose  of  extending  the  commerce  ^ 
of  the  United  States"  would  screen  its  purpose  from  public  notice. 
The  fact  that  the  nation  (Spain)  claiming  the  territory  would  re- 
gard it  is  a  literary  pursuit,  might  save  it  from  her  jealousy,  even 
if  the  decadent  state  of  her  interests  in  that  quarter  did  not  render 
her  opinion  a  matter  of  indifference. 

Congress  having  authorized  the  expedition  agreeably  to  Jef- 
.ferson's  wishes,  he  gratified  the  boyhood  ambition  of  his  private 
secretary,  Meriwether  Lewis,  by  making  him  its  guiding  vSpirit.^ 
The  months  that  followed  were  busy  ones  for  the  young  explorer. 
In  ApriF  he  was  at  Harper's  Ferry,  Virginia,  to  superintend  the 
construction  of  a  special  iron  frame  boat  and  the  manufacture  of 
arms  for  his  party;  later  he  went  to  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  and 
received  from  Andrew  Ellicott,  the  surveyor  of  the  southern  boun- 
dary of  the  United  States,  special  instruction  in  the  handling  of 
astronomical  instruments.  At  the  same  time  he  took  steps  to 
gather  recruits  from  the  various  western  posts,  and  to  engage  a 
guide  in  Cincinnati.     May  and  June  he  passed  in  Philadelphia,  in 

-gTT-WT,  ^^^"'^'^ 

4.  Ford,  ^m,  192-202. 

5.  In  reality,  because  of  its  necessary  "cash"  policy,  the  g-overn- 
ment  was  almost  a  neg-lig^ible  factor  in  the  Indian  trade. 

6.  Lrewis  at  the  ag-e  of  19  had  asked  for  the  position  planned  for 
Michaflx. 

7.  For  the  movements  of  lycwis  until  he  reached  camp  at  Wood 
River,  cf.  Coues,  History  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition  1,  XXII- 
XXV,  Note  7.     AUo  Jefferson  Papers,  Series  1,  Vol.  10;  Series  2,  Vol.  51. 

17 


consultation  with  the  eminent  physicians,  Rush,  Barton  and 
Wister  (to  whom  he  showed  the  first  draft  of  his  instructions 
regarding  the  scientific  details  of  his  work),  and  in  collecting  maps 
and  other  geographical,  data.  The  industry  and  foresight  that 
Lewis  displayed  in  his  preparations,  and  the  success  that  crowned 
his  undertaking,  afford  abundant  justification  for  the  confidence 
the  President  reposed  in  him  and  for  the  eulogium  he  subsequently 
wrote.^ 

It  will  be  observed  that  Jefferson  proposed  this  exploration  in 
a  message  penned  before  Monroe  set  sail  for  Europe  to  assist  Liv- 
ingston and  Pinckney  in  obtaining  the  Floridas  and  the  Island  of 
New  Orleans^not  the  whole  of  Louisiana.  Such  an  extensive 
purchase  was  far  from  the  President's  view,  although  Livingston 
at  Paris,  at  this  very  time,  was  suggestmg  to  Talleyrand^  that 
France  should  cede  to  the  United  States  all  that  country  above  the 
Arkansas  River,  as  a  barrier  betnween  Louisiana  and  Canada. 
The  first  draft  of  the  instructions  to  Lewis  was  composed  in  April 
when  Monroe  had  barely  reached  Paris;  and  the  final  "copy  was 
signed  and  delivered  to  the  explorer  on  June  20,  before  anthentic 
news  of  the  transfer  arrived.  Thus  in  motive  and  essential  prep- 
aration the  expedition  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the 
Louisiana  Purchase. 

An  expedition  so  conceived  must  be  managed  with  considerable 
secrecy  and  deception.  Not  only  did  the  act  conveying  the  appro- 
priation bear  a  misleading  title,  in  order  to  avoid  public  attention 
(and  the  "public"  referred  to  the  American  people  as  well  as  to 
British  fur  traders)  ;  but  the  prejudices  of  the  Spaniards,  the 
actual  possessors  of  the  territory — so  far  as  it  was  then  occupied — 
were  to  be  met  by  assurances  of  the  purely  ''literary"  character  of 
the  expedition.  This  ''literary"  subterfuge  apparently  satisfied  the 
representative  of  Great  Britain,  whose  traders  were  in  a  position 
to  oppose  most  successfully  the  progress  of  the  party  up  the  Mis- 
souri, and  of  Napoleon,  then  the  legal  owner  of  the  territory  ;  but 
it  signally  failed  to  quiet  the  jealous  fears  of  Casa  Yrujo,  the 
Spanish  Minister  at  Washington,  of  Casa  Calvo,  the  boundary 


8.  Coues,  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  XXI  and  XXII. 

9.  Livingston  to  Talleyrand,  Jan.  10,  1803,  Avierican  State  Papers, 
For.  Ret.,  11,531. 

18 


commissioner  at  New  Orleans,  of  Salcedo,  the  Captain-General 
of  the  Internal  Provinces,  or  of  the  Madrid  Government  itself.^^ 
Lewis  bore  passports  from  the  British  and  French  ministers,  but 
none  from  the  Spanish.  It  is  true  this  only  forced  him  to  pass 
the  winter  of  1803-04  upon  soil  already  in  our  possession,  but  it 
boded  ill  for  any  other  American  expedition  that  should  come 
within  striking-  distance  of  the  tottering  but  resolute  Spanish 
colonial  oower. 

Lewis  parted  from  Jefferson  at  Washington  on  July  5th,  just 
after  the  news  of  the  transfer  of  Louisiana  arrived.  This  per- 
mitted him  to  throw  off  the  cloak  of  deception  under  which  the 
real  purpose  of  the  expedition  had  been  concealed,^  ^  and  to  hope 
for  assistance  from  our  new  citizens  in  Louisiana.  He  now  could 
increase  his  force  above  the  ten  or  twelve  men  first  suggested,  and 
could  enter  openly  into  trade  relations  with  the  Indians ;  for  in  the 
language  of  the  President,  ''their  late  fathers,  the  Spaniards,"  had 
''agreed  to  withdraw  all  their  troops  from  all  the  waters  in  the 
country  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  and  to  surrender  all  sub- 
jects, posts  and  lands."  He  added  that  "henceforward  we  become 
their  fathers  and  friends,  and  that  we  shall  endeavor  that  they 
shall  have  no  cause  to  lament  the  change."^^ 

From  Washingon  Lewis  forwarded  to  his  friend,  William 
Clark,  the  frank  offer  to  share  with  him  the  hardships  and  honors 
of  his  journev.  With  a  sense  of  added  importance  and  responsi- 
bility restmg  upon  him  as  the  first  official  explorer  of  the  new 
national  domain,  he  passed  rapidly  over  the  mountains  to  Pitts- 
burg, where  until  the  last  of  August,  he  alternately  persuaded  and 
threatened  the  drunken  and  inefficient  workmen  who  delayed  the 
completion  of  his  boat.  Evidently  disappointed  in  not  receiving 
Clark's  reply  here,  on  the  26th  of  July,  he  wrote  Jefferson  recom- 


10.  See  pag-e  23. 

11.  Lewis  had  written  of  the  real  object  of  the  expedition  under 
the  injunction  of  secrecy,  to  a  certain  John  Conner  (or  Connor)  of  Cin- 
cinnati, who  was  engag-ed  as  a  guide,  but  whose  eng-ag-ement  was  after- 
ward cancelled.  Under  JeflFerson^s  advice  he  generally  gave  out  the 
idea  that  he  was  to  explore  the  upper  Mississippi.  Wheeler,  The  Trail 
of  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  32;  Jefferson  Papers,  Ser.  2,  Vol.  51,  Nos.  97,  104. 

12.  Jefferson  to  L,ewis,  Jan.  22,  1804,  quoted  in  Wheeler,  The  Trail 
of  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  43,  44. 

19 


mending  his  friend,  Lieutenant  Hooke,  then  stationed  at  Pitts- 
burg, as  his  colleague,  in  case  Clark  should  decline.^^  Finally,  at 
seven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  August  31st,  the  boat  was  ready, 
and  by  ten  the  impatient  young  officer  was  off,  despite  advice  not 
to  attempt  navigation  while  the  river  was  so  low.  Before  reach- 
ing Marietta;  September  13th,  he  was  occasionally  forced  to  use 
horses  or  oxen  to  drag  his  boat  over  the  shoals,  and  found  them 
**the  most  efficient  sailors  in  the  present  state  of  the  navigation  of 
the  river."  From  Cincinnati,  on  October  3rd,  he  communicated 
the  pleasing  news  that  Clark  had  accepted  his  offer,  although  his 
interpreter,  Conner,  had  declined. 

While  at  Cincinnati  Lewis  was  evidently  troubled  by  the  fact 
that  Congress  was  about  to  assemble  in  special  session,  and  that 
he  had  nothing  tangible  to  show  for  his  busy  months  of  effort. 
Accordingly  he  asked  Jefferson  to  authorize  him  to  make  a  rapid 
side  trip  up  some  river,  perhaps  the  Kansas,  and  to  send  Captain 
Clark  elsewhere  on  a  similar  excursion.  The  suggestion  reminds 
one  of  Dunbar's  later  proposal,  under  very  similar  circumstances.^"* 
Jefferson,  however,  was  not  minded  to  risk  the  failure  of  his  long 
cherished  plan  by  any  side  issue,  and  wrote  in  reply^^  that  the 
single  object  of  Lewis's  mission — to  find  the  direct  pathway  to  the 
Pacific — was  "of  major  importance,  and  therefore  not  to  be  de- 
layed or  hazarded  by  any  episodes  whatever." 

At  Louisville  Lewis  was  joined  by  Clark.  The  only  task  now 
to  delay  the  leaders  was  the  selection  of  recruits  from  the  volun- 
teers who  presented  themselves.  Such  was  the  high  standard 
insisted  upon  that  this  was  by  no  means  a  speedy  task.  Finally 
fourteen  soldiers  were  chosen  from  the  garrisons  of  Southwest 
Point,  Massac  and  Kaskaskia,  and  nine  Kentuckians  were  en- 
rolled as  privates  and  added  to  the  party.  By  this  time  the  tenth 
of  December  had  arrived,  and  the  whole  force,  including  Clark's 
negro  servant,  went  into  winter  quarters  at  the  mouth  of  the  Du 
Bbis  River,  opposite  vSt.  Louis.  Although  Louisiana  now  be- 
longed to  the  United  States,  the  Spanish  military  officer  at  that 
post  had  not  received  official  notice  of  the  fact,  and  refused  to 


13.  Coues,  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  LXX,  Note  5. 

14.  See  page  55. 

15.  Nov.  16,  1803.     See  page  40. 


20 


permit  the  expedition  to  enter  the  territory.  Had  the  explorers 
been  able  to  follow  the  original  plan  to  encamp  at  La  Charette,  the 
highest  white  settlement  on  the  Missouri,  they  would  have  been 
but  a  few  miles  farther  along  on  their  journey;  while  by  remaining 
near  an  army  post  they  could  obtain  government  rations  and  need 
not  intrench  upon  their  modest  approapriation.  On  the  whole,  it 
was  well  that  Lewis  did  not  reach  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri  by 
August  1st,  as  he  at  first  expected. 

The  work  before  the  young  officers,  as  outlined  in  Jefferson's 
instructions^^  may  be  summarized  as  follows.  First,  they  were 
to  determme  the  most  feasible  route,  from  the  Mississin^i  to  the 
Pacific,  by  way  of  the  Missouri  and  some  "interlocking"  western 
stream.  Their  second  task,  and  one  of  scarcely  less  importance, 
was  to  make  ancT^record  accurate  observations  concerning  the 
various  Indian  tribes  along  the  route,  with  a  view  to  open  up 
future  commercial  relations.  According  to  the  original  plan,  this 
subject  of  commerce  was  to  be  introduced  in  a  sort  of  clandestine 
manner,  so  as  to  avoid  open  opposition  from  possible  rivals;  but 
following  later  instructions  ^^  they  were  to  require  from  alien  and 
Indian  alike  the  respect  which  was  due  to  owners  of  the  soil,  and 
in  return  to  promise  friendship  and  protection.  Third,  the  travel- 
lers must  take  careful  observations  of  the  soil,  animal  life,  natural 
products,  and  climate  of  the  regions  traversed.  Fourth,  as  a  sort 
of  indefinite  politico-geographical  assignment,  they  were  to  obtain 
such  knowledge  as  was  possible  concerning  the  Rio  Grande  and 
the  Colorado,  with  the  distances  from  the  sources  of  those  streams 
to  that  of  the  Missouri ;  the  source  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  posi- 
tion relative  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods;  the  path  by  which  the 
British  traders  passed  from  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin  to  the 
Missouri;  and  the  possibility  of  deflecting  the  fur  trade  from 
Nootka  Sound  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Missouri.  This  informa- 
tion would  assist  the  government  authorities  in  determining  the 
limits  of  their  new  possession  and  its  relation  to  contiguous 
territory. 

After  the  main  instructions  had  been  delivered,  Jefferson  gave 


16.  Ford,    WriH7igs  of  Jeffersofi,  VIII,  1%  ff.;   Coues,  Lewis  and 
Clark,  I,  XXIV-XXXIII. 

17.  Jefferson  to  I^ewis,  Jan.  24,  1804,  quoted  in  Wheeler,  l^ie  Trail 
of  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  43,  44. 

21 


Lewis  a  most  effective  Fourth-of-July  token  in  the  form  of  a  com- 
prehensive letter  of  credit,  to  be  used  in  obtaining  subsistence  for 
the  party  in  case  it  should  be  desirable  and  possible  to  return  by 
sea.^^  As  long  as  the  members  of  the  party  remained  within  the 
reach  of  the  mails  these  instructions  were  supplemented  by  other 
suggestions  as  they  occurred  to  the  President,  or  were  made 
necessary  by  new  developments.  In  this  connection  it  may  be 
well  to  state  that  one  writer  hazards  the  conjecture^^  that  Jefferson 
designed  this  expedition  to  strengthen  our  claims  to  Oregon  terri- 
tory. These  claims  were  based  upon  the  discovery  of  Gray,  and 
it  was  advisable  to  learn  more  of  the  real  character  of  the  region 
in  order  to  provide  for  future  diplomatic  complications.  The 
acquisition  of  Louisiana  not  merely  lessened  the  apprehension  felt 
by  the  principals  because  of  possible  interruptions  from  other 
powers,  but  as  Jefferson  recorded,^^  "increased  infinitely  the  inter- 
est we  feel  in  the  expedition."  By  the  middle  of  November 
Jefferson  spoke  of  this  interest  as  general.  When,  in  the  follow- 
ing January,  he  forwarded  to  Lewis  a  map  of  the  Missouri  as  far 
as  the  Mandans,  prepared  by  a  certain  Welshman  named  Evans, 
he  added  :^^  "The  acquisition  of  the  country  through  which  you 
are  to  pass  has  inspired  the  country  generally  with  a  great  deal  of 
interest  in  your  enterprise.  The  inquiries  are  perpetual  as  to  your 
progress.  The  Feds,  alone  still  treat  it  as  a  philosophism,  and 
would  rejoice  at  its  failure.  Their  bitterness  increases  with  the 
diminution  of  their  numbers  and  despair  of  a  resurrection.  I  hope 
you  will  take  care  of  yourself  and  be  the  living  witness  of  their 
folly."  Thus  the  objects  of  an  almost  paternal  concern  to  Jeffer- 
son had  become  figures  of  interest  to  the  whole  country,  now  that 
their  mission  had  assumed  the  proportions  of  our  "national  epic 
of  exploration." 


18.  Wheeler,  T/ie  Trail  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  41,  has  a  facsimile  of 
this  letter.  Coues,  Lewis  and  Clark,  II,  720,  721,  thinks  that  Jefferson 
should  have  sent  a  ship  to  meet  the  explorers  on  the  Pacific  coast,  if  he 
really  expected  this  letter  to  be  effective,  but  that  he  was  fearful  of 
arousing-  Spanish  prejudices  by  so  doing-. 

19.  Wheeler,  Ibid,  47. 

20.  Coues,  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  XXXIV. 

21.  Coues,  Ibid,  XXIII,  note.  Jefferson  Papers,  Ser.  1,  Vol.  10,  No. 
1.  Kvans  was  permitted  by  the  Spanish  g-overnment  to  explore  the 
Missouri  for  traces  of  certain  "  white  "  Indians  supposed  to  be  of  Welsh 
descent. 

22 


iDespite  the  President's  confidence  in  his  ''literary"  subter- 
fuge^^  no  passport  for  Lewis  was  forthcoming  from  Casa  Yrujo, 
the  Spanish  minister.  On  the  contrary,  that  diplomat  and  Casa 
Calvo,  the  boundary  commissioner  at  New  Orleans,  immediately 
advised  their  home  government  to  take  measures  to  detain  the 
Missouri  expedition  under  "Captain  Lewis  Merry  Whether/'^s 
Upon  receiving  these  communications  Cevallos,  the  Spanish  Secre- 
tary of  Foreign  Affairs,  brought  the  matter  before  the  Junta  of 
Fortifications  and  Defense  of  the  Indies.  The  report  of  that  body 
stated  the  claim  of  Spain  to  both  banks  of  the  Missouri  and  em- 
powered Cevallos  to  instruct  Casa  Yrujo  to  protest  against  the 
expedition  as  an  invasion  of  Spanish  territory.  Casa  Yrujo 
had  already  represented  the  expedition  as  a  violation  of  the  status 
quo  in  the  disputed  territory,  and  reported  the  fact  to  Captain- 
General  Salcedo,  at  Chihuahua.^*  When  the  Mandan  letter  of 
Lewis,  together  with  the  accompanying  specimens,  became  known 
to  Casa  Calvo  at  New  Orleans,  he  insisted  still  more  strongly  that 
the  expedition  should  be  stopped  immediately;  but  as  time  wore 
on  and  the  prospect  of  successful  opposition  seemed  less  likely,  he 
used  this  fact  to  justify  the  passport  issued  for  Dunbar's  expe- 
dition.^^ 

Don  Nimecio  Salcedo,  the  Captain-General  of  the  Internal 
Provinces,  needed  little  urging  to  take  additional  precaution 
against  an  expedition  whose  results  he  already  foresaw.  On 
October  2d,  1805,  he  wrote  Iturrigaray,^^'  the  Viceroy  of  New 
Spain,  that  the  Americans  were  leaving  nothing  undone  to  gain 
the  friendship  of  the  Indians,  and  added: 

"I  have  notice  of  an  American  expedition  under  command  of  Cap- 
tain Merri  (sic)  provisioned  and  maintained  for  three  years,  that  is 
directed  up  the  Missouri  upon  the  pretext  of  discovering-  its  source,  but 
Avith  the  additional  object  of  giving-  g-ifts  to  the  Indians." 


22.  See  page  17. 

23.  Casa  Calvo  to  Cevallos,  July  18,  1805.  MSS.,  New  Mexico 
Archives^  L/ibrary  of  Congress. 

24.  Resolutions  of  Junta,  Madrid,  March  17,  1804  (1805),  New 
Mexico  Archives;  Salcedo  to  Governor  of  New  Mexico,  June  11,  1806, 
Ibid;  Casa  Yrujo  to  Madison,  March  12,  1805,  MSS.  Spanish  Notes  /, 
Bureau  of  Indexes  and  Archives,  Department  of  State. 

25.  New  Mexico  Archives,  July  18,  1805.  Cf.  also  Annals  g  Con- 
,^ress,  2,  1078  fF. 

26.  Salcedo  to  Iturrigaray,  Oct.  2,  1805.  MSS.  Bexar  Archives* 
see  page  7. 

23 


A  few  days  later,  in  writing  of  Dunbar's  proposed  expedition, 
he  stated  to  Casa  Calvo^*^  that  this,  in  connection  with  the  expedi- 
tion of  "Mr.  Merri,"  would  serve  to  familiarize  the  people  of  the 
United  States  with  the  Indians.  This  fear  formed  the  theme  of 
his  later  correspondence  with  the  Viceroy,  and  becoming  more 
impressed  with  the  danger,  he  issued  orders,  February  ii,  1806, 
to  the  Governor  of  New  Mexico^^  to  stop  the  Missouri  expedition 
if  it  had  advanced  within  the  Spanish  territory.  It  was  a  long 
reach  from  New  Mexico  to  the  upper  waters  of  the  Missouri,  and 
Lewis  and  Clark  never  knew  what  suggestions  were  being  made 
to  thwart  their  undertaking:  but  that  these  utterances  of  the 
Captain-General  were  not  pure  bombast  is  shown  by  the  measures 
that  he  took  to  win  the  Missouri  Indians  to  Spanish  allegiance.^^ 


27.  Bexar  Archives,   Oct.  8,  1805. 

28.  New  Mexico  Archives. 

29.  See  Chapter  VII. 


24 


CHAPTER  III. 

LEWIS  AND  CLARK  ON  THE  MISSOURI. 

Meanwhile,  despite  good  and  evil  reports,  the  members  of  the 
expedition  left  their  camp  at  the  mouth  of  the  Du  Bois  River,  May 
14,  1804,  and  passed  up  the  Missouri,  wintering  at  the  Mandan 
villages  near  Bismark,  North  Dakota.  Crossing  the  mountains 
and  descending  the  Columbia,  the  party  passed  the  second  winter 
on  the  Pacific  coast.  Retracing  their  steps  the  following  spring 
and  summer,  they  reached  St.  Louis  September  23,  1806.  The 
details  of  their  daily  life,  of  the  unusual  harmony  between  the 
commanding  officers,  of  the  sympathy  between  the  men  and 
leaders,  of  the  divers  kinds  of  life  experienced,  and  of  the  remark- 
able success  that  attended  the  whole  undertaking  have  already 
been  too  well  described  to  need  repetition.  It  is  the  province  of 
this  study  merely  to  emphasize  certain  political  and  geographical 
features  of  their  journey  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Great  Conti- 
nental Divide  which  separates  the  Louisiana  of  their  day  from  the 
Oregon  of  the  morrow. 

Up  to  and  even  above  their  first  wintering  place  among  the 
Mandans  they  everywhere  encountered  traces  of  recent  and  of 
remote  French  occupation.  The  name  of  the  last  civilized  settle- 
ment, La  Charette,^  recalled  a  former  regime,  even  while  one  of 
its  occupants,  Daniel  Boone,  bespoke  an  American  pioneer  move- 
ment that  had  outstripped  national  possession.  Near  the  middle 
of  June  they  passed  the  site  of  old  Ft.  Orleans,  above  the  mouth  of 
Wakenda  Creek,  in  the  present  state  of  Missouri,  and  early  in  the 
following  month  a  second  fort,  vestiges  of  which  still  remained, 
near  the  present  site  of  Ft.  Leavenworth. ^     Trading  posts,  still  in 

1.  Thwaites,  Original  Journals  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition, 
I,  29. 

2.  Thwaites,  Original  Journal  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  49,  65.  The  first 
of  these  was  near  the  Osag-e  and  Missouri  Indians  and  the  second  near 
the  Kansas.  The  second  was  an  important  center  for  furs  in  1757  and 
some  islands  near  were  utilized  for  live  stock. 

25 


use  or  recently  abandoned,  were  more  numerous.  On  the  Nesh- 
nabotna  a  St.  Louis  merchant,  two  years  before,  had  a  small  fac- 
tory where  he  carried  on  an  extensive  trade  with  the  Ottoes  and 
Pawnees,  and  below  this  a  few  French  families  had  formerly  made 
a  temporary  settlement.  Farther  on,  just  above  the  Nebraska 
line,  was  a  post  where  one  of  the  party  (Cruzatte)  had  spent  two 
years  in  trade  with  the  Mahas  (Omahas).  On  August  13,  near 
the  Omahas,  they  found  the  place  where,  in  1795-96,  James 
Mackay  established  the  trading  post  to  which  he  gave  the  name 
Ft.  Charles.^  A  much  more  pretentious  establishment  was  the 
combined  fort  and  trading  house  on  Cedar  Island,  where,  during 
the  preceding  winter,  a  certain  Loisel  (Louiselle)  had  carried  on 
a  trade  with  the  Sioux.*  In  the  present  Stanley  County,  North 
Dakota,  they  passed  the  small  factory  of  a  certain  Jean  Vallee.^ 
These  various  establishments  clearly  showed  that  the  French  had 
laid  a  thorough  foundation  for  the  Missouri  fur  trade,  upon  which 
either  an  American  or  British  superstructure  must  be  erected. 

Aside  from  these  more  or  less  permanent  buildings  other  evi- 
dence pointed  to  a  considerable  amount  of  irregular  trading  and 
prospecting  upon  both  sides  of  the  Missouri.  As  early  as  June  12, 
they  met  men  with  loaded  rafts  returning  from  the  Sioux,  and  hired 
one  of  them,  Durion,  a  man  who  had  lived  among  those  Indians 
for  twenty  years,  to  accompany  them  as  an  emissary.^  Two  days 
later  they  met  a  raft  returning  from  a  trading  expedition  among 
the  Pawnees,  and  tried  without  success  to  hire  another  man  for 
a  similar  purpose.  On  July  Q  they  passed  the  place  where  their 
bowman,  with  several  Frenchmen,  had  encamped  two  years  before. 
On  reaching  the  Platte,  they  learned  that  another  of  their  party 
had  wintered  up  that  river.  Mackay's  presence  has  already  been 
mentioned.  The  trader.  Vallee,  had  spent  the  preceding  winter 
up  the  Cheyenne,  amidst  the  Black  Hills.  Their  interpreter, 
Dorion,  could  give  them  a  fair  description  of  the  Yankton.  Their 
engage  secured  at  the  Mandans,  Chaboneau,  had  encamped  with  a 
party  of  natives  several  days'  journey  above  those  Indians;  and 


3.  Ibid,  I,  65,  72,  78,  99,  109. 

4.  Ibid,  1, 160.     The  island  is  below  White  River  in  Presho  Co.,  S.  D. 

5.  Ibid,  I,  175, 176. 

6.  Cones,  Leivis  and  Clark,  I,  21. 


26 


one  of  the  party,  La  Page,  with  a  single  companion,  had  been  a 
few  miles  farther  along  the  river.  Four  days  before  reaching  that 
spot  they  had  overtaken  a  party  of  three  Frenchmen  bound  for  the 
Yellowstone.  The  name  "Roche  Jaune,"  Lewis  and  Clark  readily 
adopted  and  translated  into  the  English  ^'Yellowstone,"  thus 
unconsciously  following  David  Thompson,  who  had  used  this 
name  in  1798.*^  This  name  seems  to  imply  that  the  French  were 
familiar  even  with  the  upper  courses  of  this  river;  for  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  the  term  is  French  rather  than  Indian  in  its 
origin.^  These  instances  would  seem  to  show  that  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Missouri  and  its  most  important  tributaries  were 
already  familiar  to  a  few  choice  but  unlettered  spirits,  who  had 
braved  its  dangers  for  one  of  its  most  characteristic  products.  In 
this  sense  the  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition,  at  least  within  the  con- 
fines of  Louisiana,  was  not  an  original  exploration. 

One  of  the  most  important  tasks  of  the  young  officers  was  the 
acquisition  of  geographical  knowledge — not  merely  as  a  result  of 
their  own  personal  observation,  but  also  by  questioning  the  traders, 
hunters,  Indians — in  short,  by  insistently  interviewing  all  who 
would  be  likely  to  add  to  their  scant  store  of  knowledge.  As 
already  shown  in  their  instructions,  they  were  not  to  restrict  them- 
selves to  what  Jefferson  later  regarded  as  the  undoubted  limits  of 
Louisiana,^  but  also  to  extend  their  inquiries  to  include  the  Colo- 
rado and  Rio  Grande  rivers.  We  have  already  seen  the  efforts  of 
Lewis,  aided  by  Jefferson,  to  obtain  all  available  data,  in  the  shape 
of  maps,  traders'  journals  and  printed  works  of  travel,  and  the 
record  of  the  expedition  bears  witness  to  the  continuance  of  this 
same  policy. 

On  reaching  the  mouth  of  the  Osage  River  the  travelers 
devoted  their  descriptions  largely  to  the  Indians  of  that  name, 
residing  upon  its  banks  and  upon  the  Arkansas.  In  speaking  of 
the  Kansas  Lewis  ventured  the  assertion  that  although  its  course 
was  not  well  "ascertained,"  it  ''heads  with  the  Del  Noird  in  the 
Black  Mountain,  or  ridge,  which  divides  the  waters  of  the  Kansas, 


7.  Thwaites,   Original  Journal  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  48,  72,  86,  175, 
307,  339. 

8.  Dellenbaug-h,  The  Breaking  of  the  Wilderness,  164. 

9.  For  Jefferson's  opinion  of  the  limits  see  Ford,  Writings  ofjef- 
Jerson,  VIII,  249,  261. 

27 


Del  Noird  and  Callardo."  One  of  their  boatmen  had  passed  a 
winter  on  the  Platte,  and  gave  them  considerable  information  of 
the  river  and  some  of  its  tributaries.  The  halt  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river  afforded  them  an  opportunity  to  give  a  description  of  the 
Ottoes,  Pawnees,  Kiowas  and  other  tribes  in  the  vicinity.  Their 
Sioux  interpreter,  Durion,  told  them  the  principal  points  of 
information  concerning  the  Little  Sioux  and  its  relation  to  the 
Des  Moines,  near  which  it  rose.  When  later  in  the  same  month 
they  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Sioux,  Durion  supplied  them 
with  similar  information  concerning  that  river  and  its  relation 
to  the  St.  Peters  (Minnesota).  In  passing  the  mouth  of  the 
Yankton  they  described  it  briefly  from  the  information  furnished 
by  a  certain  Mr.  Gravelines,  and  spoke  of  its  peculiar  position  in 
connection  with  the  St.  Peters  and  the  Red  River  of  the  North. 
The  trader,  Vallee,  gave  tli^m  inform^ation  of  the  Chey- 
enne, and  informed  them  that  the  Indians  along  the  upper  courses 
of  that  river  were  accustomed  to  steal  horses  from  the  Spaniards, 
who  lived  a  month's  journey  away.^^ 

During  their  winter  at  the  Mandan  villages  they  took  occasion 
to  interview  the  native  French  voyageurs  and  British  fur  traders 
concerning  the  surrounding  country.  The  French  could  tell  them 
of  the  region  as  far  as  the  Yellowstone,  and  the  Indians  supple- 
mented this  information  with  regard  to  the  upper  courses  of  the 
river  and  the  m.ountains  in  which  it  rose.  The  British  traders,  with 
whom  their  relations  were  for  the  most  part  very  friendly,  told 
them  of  the  country  occupied  by  their  posts  on  the  Assiniboin  and 
of  the  region  between  the  Missouri  and  the  upper  Mississippi. 
One  of  the  British  traders  recorded  the  fact  that  the  Americans 
found  all  the  observations  of  their  explorer,  Thompson,  inaccurate. 
He  further  gave  the  interesting  boundary  claim  made  by  the 
Americans  of  a  line  due  west  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  till  it 
struck  the  River  Qui  Appelle  (Marias,  or  Milk  River?),  a  tribu- 
tary of  the  Missouri,  and  thence  to  the  Pacific.  They  claimed  that 
a  due  west  line  would  not  strike  the  the  Mississippi,  and  accord- 
ingly this  should  be  drawn  to  reach  one  of  its  tributaries,^^  in  this 
case  a  tributarv  of  the  Missouri. 


10.  Thwaites,   Orie-.  Jour.,  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  37,  60,  86,  103,  115, 
175,  176. 

11.  Thwaites,  Orig.  Jour.,  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  238,  246,  note. 

28 


Above  the  Mandans  this  secondary  information  became  more 
scant,  and  Hkewise  of  less  importance.  Several  of  the  northern 
tributaries  they  erroneously  supposed  to  rise  above  the  forty-ninth 
parallel,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Saskatchewan.  The  statement  is 
usually  made  that  they  first  gave  the  Yellowstone  its  English 
name,  but  this  honor,  it  seems,  belongs  properly  to  David  Thomp- 
son. They  recorded  their  belief  that  this  river  rose  near  the 
Missouri,  Platte,  and  in  all  probabihty  some  branch  of  the 
Columbia.  They  spoke  of  some  of  its  tributaries,  and  recom- 
mended the  establishment  of  a  post  at  its  mouth.  On  June  3  they 
reached  the  mouth  of  Marias  River.  Lewis  believed  that  this 
river,  named  for  his  cousin,  was  destined  to  become  an  object  of 
contention  in  the  adjustment  of  the  northwestern  boundary, 
because  il  flowed  through  a  fertile  country  and  one  in  which  Great 
Britain  enjoyed  a  monopoly  of  the  fur  trade.  This  river  bore 
more  than  a  sentimental  and  political  interest  to  the  members  of 
the  party,  for  they  spent  several  days  in  exploring  the  vicinity,  to 
determine  whether  it  were  the  main  fork  of  the  Missouri.  Fortu- 
nately for  the  success  of  the  expedition,  the  leaders  came  to  a 
decision  that  it  was  not.^^ 

The  explorers,  from  the  report  of  former  travelers  and  of  their 
hunter,  Le  Page,  recorded  their  impressions  of  the  Black  Hills, 
which  they  regarded  as  forming  a  ridge  from  the  source  of  the 
Arkansas  to  the  Saskatchewan.  Lewis  criticized  the  map  of 
Airowsmith,  which  represented  the  Missouri  as  entering  the 
Rockies  south  of  the  forty-fifth  parallel.  In  the  vicinity  of  the 
falls  of  the  Missouri  they  were  detained  several  days  in  the  con- 
struction of  boats,  and  accordingly  prepared  a  fairly  elaborate 
description  of  this  natural  curiosity.  Passing  up  the  principal  of 
the  three  forks  of  the  Missouri,  they  soon  reached  the  head  of 
navigation.  Crossing  the  great  divide,  Lewis,  among  the 
Shoshones,  discovered  horses  bearing  Spanish  brands,  thus  reveal- 
ing communication  with  the  people  from  the  far  south.  Upon  the 
Lemhi  River,  Lewis,  in  addition,  received  information  from  the 
Shoshones  that  certain  of  the  southern  branches  of  the  Columbia 
headed  with  the  River  of  the  Apostles  and  the  Colorado,  and  thus 


12.     Thwaites,  Orig,  Jour.,  Lewis  and  Clark,   I,  328,  329,  339,  363; 
II,  81,  113. 

29 


afforded  a  way  of  communication  to  the  Vermilion  Sea  (Gulf  of 
California)  ;  but  this  was  regarded  as  too  far  south  for  their  pur- 
pose. The  Indians  also  said  that  they  could  pass  in  ten  days,  by 
way  of  the  Yellowstone,  to  the  Spaniards,  with  whom  the  natives 
did  not  seem  to  be  on  good  terms,  because  those  people  would  not 
furnish  them  with  fire-arms.^^ 

Beyond  the  mountains,  however,  there  is  little  in  their  discov- 
eries of  direct  concern,  aside  from  their  unfortunate  theory  regard- 
ing the  source  of  the  Multonomah  (the  lower  Willamette).  They 
believed  this  to  rise  somewhere  near  the  headwaters  of  the  Rio 
Grande  and  Missouri,  and  decades  passed  before  this  idea  was 
dissipated.^ ^  Upon  their  return  from  the  Pacific  the  expedition 
temporarily  divided  to  permit  Lewis  to  examine  Marias  River  and 
Clark  to  traverse  part  of  the  Yellowstone,  and  thus  thev  obtained 
some  additional  information  concerning  these  rivers,  although  not 
so  complete  as  they  desired. 

In  the  accomplishment  of  their  second  important  task — the 
opening  oi  relations  with  the  Indian  tribes  along  their  route — Lewis 
and  Clark  may  be  regarded  as  reasonably  successful,  especially  in 
view  of  their  relatively  small  equipment,  which  was  little  likely  to 
command  the  respect  of  savage  minds.  On  August  3  they  held 
their  first  conference  at  the  mouth  of  the  Platte  with  some  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Ottoes  and  Missouris.  These  received  in  a 
becoming  manner  the  speech  of  the  youthful  leaders,  announcing 

change  in  government,  accepted  gratefully  the  trifling  presents 

en,  requested  traders  to  be  sent  to  them,  and  asked  for  media- 
ion  between  themselves  and  the  Mahas.  From  this  incident  the 
vspot  took  the  name  of  Council  Bluflf.^^  During  the  last  days  of 
the  month,  through  the  efforts  of  their  interpreter,  Durion,  they 
held  important  conferences  with  the  Yankton  Sioux.      Late  in 

13.  Thwaites,  Orig.  Jour.,  Lewis  and  Clark,  II,  67, 132, 147-226.  One 
is  tempted  to  speculate  on  the  way  history  might  have  been  changed 
had  L/ewis  attempted  this  southern  route. 

14.  Coues,  Lewis  and  Clark,  III,  976;  Thwaites,  Orig.  Jour.,  IV,  233, 
239,  240,  308,  339;  V,  320;  Gass,  A  Journal  of  the  Voyages  and  Travels  of 
a  Corps  of  Discovery,  194.  This  idea  was  not  dissipated  till  the  publi- 
cation of  Gallatin's  Synopsis  of  the  Indian  Tribes  of  North  America,  in 
1836.     See  Chittenden,  The  History  of  the  American  Fur  Trade,  I,  307. 

15.  Coues,  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  64;  Wheeler,  Trail  of  Lewis  a7id  Clark, 
I,  156-158.     This  was  not  the  site  of  the  present  city. 

30 


September  they  had  a  conference  with  the  Teton  Sioux,  the 
"pirates  of  the  river,"  and  came  very  near  a  hostile  clash,  before 
they  were  permitted  to  proceed.  Upon  the  Arikara  Indians  the 
notables  of  the  party,  especially  Clark's  servant,  York,  made  a 
very  favorable  impression,  which  led  one  of  their  chiefs  to  visit 
Washington  the  following  year.  Their  winter-long  sojourn 
among  the  Mandans  gave  them  an  opportunity  to  make  a  lasting 
impression,  despite  the  clearly-felt  but  unexpressed  hostility  of 
British  fur  traders.^^  From  Ft.  Mandan  as  a  center  both 
explorers,  but  chiefly  Lewis,  despite  the  almost  insuperable  diffi- 
culties of  interpretation,  made  use  of  the  winter  months  to  extend 
diplomatic  relations  among  the  Indians  whom  they  visited  or  who 
visited  them.  Although  uniformly  successful  in  making  a  strong 
impression  upon  those  who  met  them,  and  in  some  cases  securing 
an  influence  as  arbiters  in  intertribal  disputes,  an  English  trader, 
Henry,  later  reported  that  some  of  the  neighboring  Indians  were 
disgusted  at  the  high-sounding  and  patronizing  language  used  by 
the  American  captains  in  their  "big  talks."^*^ 

From  the  Mandan  villages  to  the  Rockies  they  encountered  no 
Indians,  except  the  Minnatarees,  already  met,  and  beyond  the 
mountains  the  fortunate  relationship  of  Sacajawea,  the  "Bird 
Woman,"  to  the  Shoshone  chief,  enabled  them  successfully  to 
accomplish  their  journey  to  the  Pacific.^* 

Upon  their  return,  Lewis,  along  Marias  River,  had  that  unfor- 
tunate encounter  with  the  Blackfeet,  when  occurred  the  only 
shedding  of  blood  by  the  members  of  the  party.  On  this  occasion 
the  Indians  were  clearly  the  aggressors,  and  retreated  as  rapidly 
as  did  Lewis  and  the  small  band  with  him,  and  their  tribe  treasured 
up  little  resentment  against  the  Americans,  until  the  latter  allied 
themselves  with  their  enemies,  the  Crows.  Upon  their  return  to 
the  Mandan  villages,  Lewis  and  Clark  found  the  Mandans  and  the 
Sioux  again  at  war,  and  with  the  utmost  difficulty  persuaded  one 


16.  Thwaites,  Orig.Jour.,  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  129-31,  164  ff,  183,  184, 
288  ff.  The  explorers  had  previously  g-iven  them  a  corn  mill  which  the 
natives  received  with  pleasure,  but  afterwards  demolished  to  barb  their 
arrows.     Thwaites,  I,  211;  Cone&,  Journals  of  Alexander  Henry,  I,  329. 

17.  Thwaites,  Orig.  Jour.,  Lewis  and  Clark,  II,  213,  223,  229;  Coues, 
Lewis  and  Clark,  III,  1192;  Coues,  The  Journals  of  Alexander  Henry,  1, 350. 

18.  Thwaites,  Orig.Jour.,  II,  350-362. 

31 


of  the  chiefs,  Big  White,  with  his  family,  to  accompany  them  on  a 
visit  to  Washington.  Although  this  was  in  keeping  with  Jeffer- 
son's instructions,  the  chief  became  an  elephant  on  the  hands  of 
the  government  officials,  before  they  succeeded  in  returning  him 
to  his  home  through  the  hostile  Sioux  and  the  Arikaras.^® 

When  the  American  party  reached  the  Mandans  they  found 
there  an  Irish  free-lance  trader,  then  in  the  employ  of  the  North- 
West  Company,  and  by  him  sent  a  letter,  dated  October  31,  1804,^^ 
to  Charles  Chabouillez,  the  company's  factor  upon  the  Assiniboin 
River.  This  letter  mentioned  the  desire  of  the  American  officers 
to  live  upon  terms  of  amity  with  all  traders,  and  enclosing  a  copy 
of  the  passport  from  the  British  minister,  diplomatically  extended 
their  protection  to  all  well-disposed  individuals.  They  also 
requested  a  mutual  exchange  of  geographical  information.  Late 
in  November  the  Indians  told  them  that  a  party  of  seven  traders 
had  lately  arrived  at  the  villages,  and  that  one  of  their  interpreters, 
La  France,  spoke  slightingly  of  the  Americans.  Lewis  and  Clark 
immediately  informed  the  Indians  that  they  could  no  longer 
receive  such  "simbles"  as  medals  and  flags  from  others  than 
Americans,  without  displeasing  their  new  father  at  Washington ; 
and  later  when  the  leaders  of  the  party,  Larocque  and  McKenzie, 
called  upon  the  American  officers,  the  latter  complained  of  the 
conduct  of  the  British  interpreter  and  spoke  of  the  unfavorable 
lesults  which  might  follow,  if  such  actions  did  not  cease. 
Larocque,  who  had  neither  medals  nor  flags,  readily  heeded  these 
warnings,  and  declared  that  his  party  had  no  intention  of  tamper- 
ing with  the  natives.  One  other  incident  of  like  nature  was  later 
reported  of  a  Hudson's  Bay  Company  agent,  located  at  a  post 
some  ninety  miles  away.^^ 

In  general,  the  decisive  stand  taken  by  the  young  explorers 
seems  to  have  aroused  the  respect  of  the  British  traders.  The 
above  party  remained  in  the  vicinity  for  several  weeks,  and  their 
relations  with  the  Americans  became  so  cordial  that  Larocque 
finally  proposed  to  accompany  them  when  they  moved  westward. 


19.  Cone&.Lewis  and  Clark,  111,1097-1107;  1183-85.  Chittenden, //^V/. 
of  American  Fur  Trade,  I,  119,  139,  714.  Thwaites,  Orig.  Jour.,  V,  205 
ff.,  Ch.  XXXII,  passim. 

20.  Coues,  Lewis  and  Clark,  1,  187,  88  gives  the  letter  in  full. 

21.  Thwaites,  Orig.  Jour.,  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  227,  228,  248. 

32 


For  obvious  reasons,  the  Americans  declined  this  proposal. 
Larocque  believed  that  the  Americans  had  made  a  good  impression 
upon  the  Mandans  and  the  neighbormg  tribes,  but  McKenzie 
believed  the  Indians  far  from  truthful,  and  mentioned  that  they 
were  especially  mystified  at  the  attempt  of  the  Americans  to  record 
their  vocabularies.  Larocque  thought  that  both  Americans  were 
pleased  to  receive  their  visits,  although  Clark  was  more  affable 
and  displayed  none  of  the  inveterate  prejudice  against  the  British 
which  Lewis  could  not  wholly  conceal.^^ 

On  December  ist  they  were  visited  by  a  Mr.  Henderson,  a  rep- 
resentative of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  bound  for  the  Minne- 
tarees.  Later  in  the  same  month  Chabouillez  sent  by  a  certain 
Hugh  Henney,  his  reply  to  Lewis  and  Clark's  communication, 
offering  to  show  the  travelers  every  courtesy  in  his  power. 
Henney  gave  them  much  useful  geographical  information ;  but 
Corporal  Gass  recorded  what  was  doubtless  the  well-founded 
suspicion  of  the  whole  party,  that  these  visits  were  simply  to  satisfy 
their  curiosity  regarding  the  Americans,  and  to  spy  out  their  deal- 
ings with  the  Indians.-^  At  any  rate,  the  leaders  discovered 
toward  the  close  of  the  winter  that  some  one,  possibly  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company,  had  been  tampering  with  their  interpreter, 
Chaboneau,  the  husband  of  the  "Bird  Woman."  A  little  plain- 
speaking  and  a  few  days  for  reflection  cured  the  recalcitrant.^^ 
The  Americans  also  received  notice  that  a  certain  Murdock 
Cameron,  a  British  trader  on  the  St.  Peters  (Minnesota)  was 
selling  liquor  to  the  Indians  of  that  vicinity,  stirring  up  the  Sioux 
against  the  Chippewas,  and  endeavoring  by  his  influence  to  break 
up  the  Missouri  fur  trade,  in  favor  of  the  establishments  on  the 
St.  Peters.^^  The  incident  simply  illustrates  one  of  the  results  of 
an  unscrupulous  trading  policy,  but  unfortunately  neither  the  small 


22.  Thwaites,  Orig.  Jour.  Lewis  and  Clark,  227,  252,  277,  note. 

23.  Ibid,  I,  206,  207.  Coues,  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  212,  note  37.  On  his 
return  journey  Clark  tried  to  enlist  Henney's  services  to  induce  some  of 
the  Sioux  to  visit  Washing-ton  and  even  hinted  at  a  possible  appoint- 
ment as  Indian  agfent.     Thwaites,  Orig.  Jour.,  V,  282-286. 

24.  Thwaites,  Orig.  Jour.  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  271,  275.  Wheeler, 
Trail  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  256. 

25.  Coues,  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  239.  Expeditions  of  Pike,  I,  66. 
Thwaites,  Orig.  Jour. ,  V,  286. 

33 


force  with  Lewis  and  Clark,  nor  any  other  sent  out  by  the  govern- 
ment for  many  years  to  come,  was  able  to  deal  effectually  with  the 
problem. 

In  general,  one  may  say  that  Lewis  and  Clark  were  fairly  suc- 
cessful in  their  double  task  of  inducing  the  Indians  to  recognize 
nominally  the  new  sovereignty  now  placed  over  them  and  of  lead- 
ing the  British  representatives  of  that  section  to  respect  this  new 
arrangement.  Of  course,  a  mere  idle  assertion  of  an  authority, 
unsupported  by  other  supplementary  steps,  would  be  as  vain  as 
the  previous  Spanish  expeditions  through  portions  of  Louisiana. 
For  some  years  the  policy  of  the  United  States  government  in  fol- 
lowing up  the  work  of  Lewis  and  Clark  was  almost  as  nerveless 
as  that  of  the  vice-regal  court  of  New  Spain  :  but,  fortunately,  our 
government  had  in  its  unofficial  service  a  class  of  citizens  that 
New  Spain  lacked  after  the  age  of  theConqmstadores.  The  years 
immediately  following  1806  belong  especially  to  this  class,  of 
whom  the  most  typical  representatives  were  found  among  the 
Missouri  fur  traders. 

The  explorers  had  met  with  a  few  of  these  on  their  way  up  the 
river,  but  their  number  seemed  more  than  doubled  as  they  passed 
down.  Some  distance  above  the  Mandans,  they  met  with  two 
Illinois  traders  bound  for  the  Yellowstone,  and  their  man  Colter 
joined  them.^^  On  September  3,  above  the  Big  Sioux  River,  they 
met  with  a  Mr.  James  Aird,  of  a  Prairie  du  Chien  trading  house, 
who  bore  a  license  to  trade  with  the  Sioux.  Mr.  Aird  very  hand- 
somely told  them  the  latest  news  and  presented  them  with  tobacco 
and  flour — both  very  acceptable  gifts.^"^  Near  the  Little  Sioux 
they  met  a  boat  belonging  to  Auguste  Chouteau,  from  which  they 
obtained  another  desired  article,  whiskey — the  first  since  July  4, 
1805.  This  boat  was  bound  for  the  Yankton  River.  Below  the 
Nemaha,  on  September  10,  they  fell  in  with  two  boats,  one  with 
four  men  bound  for  the  Pawnee  Loups  on  the  Platte,  and  the  other 
with  seven  men  bound  for  the  Mahas.  From  the  latter  they  first 
learned  of  Pike's  expedition  to  the  southwest.^^     Two  days  later 

26.  Thwaites,  Orig.Jour.,  V,  329,  341,  note. 

27.  For  the  meeting*  with  these  and  the  following-  trading  parties, 
see  Coues,  Lewis  and  Clark,  III,  1202-1213;  Thwaites,  Orig.  Jour.,  V, 
337-395. 

28.  See  Chapter  XII. 

34 


they  met  with  a  second  boat  belonging  to  Auguste  Chouteau,  like- 
wise bound  for  the  Platte,  and  another  bound  for  the  Mahas. 
Later  the  same  day  they  met  a  Captain  Robert  McClellan,  who 
had  with  him  two  interpreters  employed  by  Lewis  and  Clark  ar  the 
Mandans.  One  of  these,  Gravelines,  had  been  sent  the  precedi  ig 
year  to  accompany  the  Arikara  chief  to  Washington.  Unfortu- 
nately the  chief  had  died,  and  now  Gravelines,  with  Captain 
McClellan  and  Durion,  already  familiar  for  his  services  in  1804 
among  the  Sioux,^^  was  returning  to  the  Arikaras  with  a  s|.eech 
and  presents  from  the  President.  He  was  also  to  attempt  to  intro- 
duce agriculture  among  the  Sioux  and  to  get  some  to  visit  Wash- 
ington. 

Just  below  the  old  Kansas  villages  they  met  three  more  trading 
boats  bound  for  the  Yanktons  and  Mahas;  and  on  the  i6th  of 
September  two  more  bound  to  the  Mahas  and  Pawnees.  The 
second  of  these  parties  bore  a  suspiciously  loose  license,  and  Clark 
was  for  a  time  inclined  to  take  its  members  into  custody,  but  finally 
let  them  go  after  warning  them  "not  to  degrade  the  American 
character  in  the  eyes  of  the  Indians."  Above  the  Grand  River 
they  met  with  Captain  John  McClellan,  of  the  United  States  Army, 
who  was  on  the  way  to  open  up  a  new  trade  with  the  Indians.  He 
planned  to  establish  himself  on  the  Platte,  and  after  entering  into 
trading  relations  with  the  Ottoes,  Pawnees  and  Comanches,  to 
persuade  some  of  the  chiefs  to  accompany  him  to  Santa  Fe,  where 
he  hoped  to  open  up  a  lucrative  trade  with  the  Spaniards.  If  he 
secured  the  desired  permission  to  trade,  he  wished  to  transport  his 
goods  from  the  banks  of  the  Platte  to  some  point  in  Louisiana  con- 
venient for  resort  for  the  New  Mexican  merchants,^^  and  then 
effect  the  necessary  exchange.  Even  at  La  Charette  they  met  with 
two  of  Aird's  Canadian  employees,  who  were  about  to  set  out  for 
the  Osages  and  Ottoes.  This  continuous  procession  of  traffic  met 
by  the  returning  expedition  formed,  in  the  words  of  a  recent 
writer,^^  "one  of  the  most  deeply  significant  circumstances  in  the 
whole  nari-ative."  *Mt  showed  which  way  the  'course  of  empire* 
was  already  taking — that  way  which  Lewis  and  Clark  had  been, 
first  of  all  our  countrymen." 


29.  See  pagre  26,  28,  30. 

30.  McClellan  seems  to  have  tried  to  g"ain  the  g-ood  will  of  the  Lewis 
and  Clark  party,  for  in  the  languag-e  of  Gass  he  "g-ave  all  our  party  as 
much  whiskey  as  they  could  drink."  This  plan  of  McClellan's  was  sup- 
ported by  Wilkinson,  for  the  Captain  bore  from  him  an  introductory 
speech  to  the  Pawnees  and  Ottoes.     Thwaites,  Orig.  Jour.,  V,  387. 

31.  Coues,  Lewis  and  Clarke  III,  1206,  note  8. 

35 


CHAPTER  IV. 

JEFFERSON'S  PLAN  FOR  EXPLORING  LOUISIANA. 

Early  in  July,  1803,  Jefterson  received  definite  news  of  the 
Purchase  of  Louisiana,  and  immediately  began  the  process  of  col- 
lecting information  relating  to  this  almost  unknown  territory.  As 
the  first  step,  he  submitted  a  list  of  seventeen  questions  to  Daniel 
Clark,  our  consul  at  New  Orleans;  to  William  Dunbar,  the 
scientist  of  Mississippi,  and  to  William  Charles  Coles  Claiborne, 
the  youthful  governor  of  that  territory.  Of  these  questions,  four 
related  to  maps  of  Louisiana,  its  boundaries,  and  the  distance  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  to  various  points  to  the  westward.^ 
The  resulting  correspondence  with  the  above  gentlemen  summa- 
rizes in  a  fairly  complete  fashion  existing  public  knowledge  in  the 
southwest  concerning  Louisiana.^ 

Jefferson's  query  regarding  maps  of  Louisiana  failed  to  elicit 
auA^thing  definite.  Claiborne,  who  was  a  comparative  stranger  in 
the  Southwest,  wrote  that  he  believed  there  were  no  maps  extant 
that  could  be  depended  upon.  He  had  been  told  that  there  were 
two  partial  maps  of  the  country  prepared  by  Romans  and  by 
Gould,^  and  that  the  former  was  the  better.  Of  this  he  hoped  to 
obtair^  a  copy.  He  was  also  informed  that  Spanish  officers  had 
taken  a  number  of  partial  but  accurate  sketches  of  the  country,  but 
their  government  had  prevented  the  publication  of  these.  When 
the  French  possessed  the  territory  they  undertook  a  general  geo- 
graphical survey,  but  never  completed  it.  "An  ingenious  corre- 
spondent" of  Claiborne's  (Dr.  John  Sibley)  was  just  completing 


1.  Ford,  Writings  of  Jefferson,  VIII,  253,  254. 

2.  These  letters  are  in  Claiborne's  Correspondence  (MSS.),  Vol.  I, 
and  Vol.  IV,  Bureau  of  Rolls  and  Ivibrary,  State  Department,  dind  Jeffer- 
son Papers,  Ser.  2,  Vol.  17,  No.  38;  Vol.  76,  No.  5. 

3.  Gould,  George,  A  General  Description  of  the  Sea  Coast,  Harbors, 
Lakes,  Rivers,  etc.,  of  the  Province  of  West  Florida,  1776.  MSS., 
L/ibrary  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  Phila.  Romans,  Ber- 
nard, A  Concise  Natural  History  of  East  and  West  Florida,  etc..  New 
York,  1775. 

36 


an  accurate  map  of  the  country  between  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Rio  Grande,  and  he  hoped  soon  to  be  able  to  forward  this,  together 
with  a  copy  of  Romans's. 

Clark  wrote  with  much  greater  definiteness  regarding  the 
cartography  of  Louisiana.  He  knew  of  no  exact  maps  of  the 
western  part  of  the  province,  for  such  as  were  extant  depended 
upon  ideas  derived  from  the  period  of  French  occupancy.  With 
regard  to  the  portion  east  of  the  Mississippi,  he  referred  the  Presi- 
dent to  Andrew  Ellicott,  the  former  surveyor  of  the  Southern 
Boundary,  whom  Clark  had  supplied,  when  in  New  Orleans,  with 
the  best  manuscript  maps.  Moreover  Ellicott  had  personally  sur- 
veyed portions  of  the  Floridas,  and  the  Mississippi  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Ohio.  Thomas  Hutchins^  had  also  published  a  map  of  the 
same  region.  One  of  the  best  maps  of  the  Gulf  coast,  although 
on  too  small  a  scale,  was  that  of  Don  Juan  de  Langara,  published 
in  1799.^  None  of  the  published  maps  gave  a  correct  idea  of  the 
coast  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Sabine.  Clark  referred  to 
excellent  maps  of  Mobile  and  of  the  Missouri  region  which  he  had 
already  forwarded  to  the  State  Department,  and  supplemented  his 
remarks  by  a  sketch  prepared  at  his  request.  His  report  upon  the 
point  of  cartography  was  so  satisfactory  that  Dunbar  forbore  to 
do  more  than  add  a  brief  comment. 

The  remaining  one  to  direct  Jefferson's  attention  to  the  lack  of 
definite  information  concerning  his  new  purchase,  was  an  inter- 
esting character,  resembling  those  often  forging  to  the  front 
amidst  pioneer  conditions.  Dr.  John  Sibley,^  a  veteran  of  the 
Revolutionary  War,  had  been  forced  by  domestic  difficulties  to 
migrate  from  Massachusetts  to  Fayetteville,  North  Carolina. 
Here  it  was  reported  that  he  attempted  to  remarry — at  any  rate,  it 
became  desirable  to  move  again,  this  time  to  Louisiana,  then  under 
Spanish  domination.     He  arrived  in  the  country  in  March,  1803, 


4.  Hutchins,  Thomas,  Historical,  Narrative,  and  Topographical 
Description  of  Louisiana  and  West  Florida,  Phila.,  1784. 

5.  This  map  g-ave  the  Sabine  as  the  boundary  between  lyouisiana 
and  Texas.  Talamantes  criticised  this  as  "  purely  a  maratime  map  and 
prepared  at  a  time  when  the  question  of  limits  was  of  no  interest." 
Historia,  43,  Opusculo,  I,  Par.  71,  Archive  General,  Mexico. 

6.  The  facts  concerning-  Sibley  are  found  in  Jefferson  Paper's,  Ser. 
1,  Vol.  10;  Ser.  2,  Vols.  17,  19,  76. 

37 


and  on  his  way  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Claiborne,  upon  whom 
he  seems  to  have  made  a  good  impression.  The  Governor  began 
a  correspondence  with  him  regarding  the  information  Jefferson 
desired.  The  communications  between  the  two  aroused  the  sus- 
picion of  a  local  Spanish  commandant,  Vidal  by  name,  who 
reported  Sibley  to  the  Governor-General  as  a  dangerous  character. 
This  fact  caused  Claiborne  to  doubt  if  Sibley  at  this  crisis  could 
be  of  any  assistance  to  him  or  to  the  President.  Finally,  by  care- 
ful questioning  and  working  at  night,  the  Doctor  succeeded  in 
completing  his  sketch,  and  in  sending  it,  with  many  admonitions 
regarding  secrecy,  to  Claiborne.  Sibley  had  no  previous  map  to 
guide  him,  but  in  his  sketch,  v-^hich  he  considered  fairly  accurate, 
he  represented  the  principal  rivers  between  the  Mississippi  and 
the  Rio  Grande,  with  some  description  of  the  course  of  each  and 
of  the  surrounding  country.  The  Red  he  described  in  some  detail, 
especially  the  soil  and  productions  of  its  lower  course,  and  dwelt 
upon  the  importance  of  Natchitoches  as  the  gateway  to  the  Mex- 
ican provinces.  This  part  of  his  description  was  largely  over- 
drawn, and  many  of  his  geographical  statements  were  incorrect; 
but  the  letter,  as  a  whole,  evidently  won  for  Sibley  the  favorable 
regard  of  the  Jeffersonian  administration. 

What  was  true  concerning  the  cartographical  knowledge  of 
Louisiana  as  a  whole  was  equally  true  of  the  more  precise  ques- 
tions of  distances  and  of  limits.  Claiborne  and  Sibley  were 
inclined  to  acquiesce  in  the  administration  position  that  West 
Florida  was  included  in  the  purchase.  Dunbar  and  Clark  unques- 
tioningly  accepted  the  later  Spanish  position  that  it  was  not.  With 
reference  to  the  western  boundary  none  of  the  four  reported  in 
favor  of  a  claim  west  of  the  Sabine ;  while  Clark  expressly  scouted 
the  idea  of  any  such  based  upon  La  Salle's  settlement.  He  wrote 
at  length  of  the  former  Franco-Spanish  line  at  the  Arroyo  Hondo, 
between  Natchitoches  and  the  Sabine.  In  the  latter  feature 
Dunbar  supported  his  position.  Above  the  Sabine  Clark  men- 
tioned certain  early  French  establishments  on  the  Missouri,  and 
emphasized  the  fact  that  the  Nootka  Sound  episode  had  resulted 
in  a  definite  division  point  on  the  Pacific.  Dunbar  wrote  of  an 
uncertain  line  from  the  Sabine  to  the  mountains,  dividing  the 
eastern  waters  from  those  of  the  west,  and  Sibley  vaguely  sug- 
gested the  same  thing.     None  of  them  proposed  a  definite  line  in 

38 


the  west,  while  Dunbar  even  expected  a  transfer  to  Spain  of  the 
territory  west  of  the  Mississippi,  in  exchange  for  the  Floridas. 

It  will  readily  be  perceived  that  from  a  geographical  stand- 
point the  information  furnished  by  these  gentlemen,  though  prac- 
tically all  obtainable,  was  pitifully  meagre.  It  is  not  surprising, 
therefore,  that  in  his  report  of  November  14,  1803,''  upon  our  new 
territorial  acquisition,  Jefferson  said  very  little  concerning  boun- 
daries or  allied  topics.  Another  reason  for  the  President's  silence 
may  have  been  the  fact  that  the  information  received  was  almost 
entirely  opposed  to  his  own  opinion — an  opinion  derived  from  an 
examination  carried  on  in  his  library  at  Monticello.^  Their 
jeports,  moreover,  supported  Ellicott's  view,  as  expressed  in  the 
preface  of  his  Journal  published  during  this  year,  that  West 
Florida  was  not  included  in  Louisiana. 

Jefferson  evidently  formulated  plans  to  explore  Louisiana,  as  a 
territorial  acquisition,  almost  as  soon  as  he  began  to  gather  the 
scant  information  concerning  it.  On  August  11,  1803,  he  wrote 
to  one  of  the  government  survevors,  Isaac  Briggs,^^  that  "Con- 
gress would  probably  authorize  the  exploration  of  the  principal 
streams  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri,"  and  an  accurate  deter- 
mination **of  given  points  in  the  highlands  inclosing  the  waters  of 
those  rivers,  which  highlands  constitute  the  exterior  boundary  of 
the  acquisition."  When  he  received  the  information  summarized 
above,  he  probably  already  realized  the  truth  of  Clark's  suggestion 
that  the  boundary  question  with  Spain  was  not  one  for  geograph- 
ical determination,  but  for  diplomatic  discussion  and  mutual  com- 
promise. In  such  a  discussion  our  government  would  be  greatly 
handicapped  by  its  lack  of  accurate  knowledge,  while  Spain  had  an 
unlimited  store  of  documentary  material  at  its  disposal. ^^     It  was 


7.  Annals  8  Cong.,  2,  1498  ff. 

8.  The  Limits  and  Bounds  of  Louisiana,  a  memoir  published  in 
Documents  Relating  to  the  Purchase  and  Exploration  of  Louisiana, 
Boston,  Houghton,  Miflin  &  Co.,  1904. 

9.  Andrew  Bllicott,  Journal  *  *  *  of  late  Commission  on  behalf  of 
the  U.  S.,  etc.,  Phila.,  1803. 

10.  Jefferson  Papers,  Ser.  1,  Vol.  9,  No.  121. 

11.  That  the  Spanish  g-overnment  possessed  such  material,  even  if 
its  representatives  made  little  use  of  it  in  the  succeeding  negotiations, 
is  abundantly  shown  by  the  vast  documentary  treasures  of  the  Mexican 
Archives,  just  beginning  to  be  exploited.  Cf.  Texas  Historical  Quar- 
terly, VI,  103-112;  VII,  196-213. 

39 


\ 


hardly  to  be  expected  that  Jefferson  would  enter  upon  such  a 
negotiation  blindly,  and  accordingly  he  determined  upon  a  more 
thorough  exploration  of  our  new  western  frontier. 

Jefferson's  plan  for  the  exploration  of  Louisiana,  and  the  dis- 
tinction which  he  wished  to  preserve  between  the  expedition  of 
Lewis  and  Clark  and  those  he  now  had  in  mind,  is  best  shown  in 
his  letter  of  November  i6.  1803,  to  Meriwether  Lewis.^^ 

"The  object  of  your  mission  is  single,  the  direct  water  communica- 
tion from  sea  to  sea  formed  by  the  bed  of  the  Missouri,  and  perhaps  the 
Oregon.  I  have  proposed  in  conversation,  and  it  seems  generally 
assented  to,  that  Congress  appropriate  ten  to  twelve  thousand  dollars 
for  exploring  the  principal  waters  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri.  In 
that  case  I  should  send  a  party  up  the  Red  River  to  its  head  then  to 
cross  over  to  the  head  of  the  Arkansas  and  come  down  that.  A  second 
party  for  the  Panis  and  Padouca,  and  a  third  perhaps  for  the  Morsigona 
and  St.  Peters  (13).  This  [exploration]  will  be  attempted  distinctly 
from  your  mission  which  we  consider  of  major  importance  and  therefor 
not  to  be  delayed  or  hazarded  by  any  episodes  whatever." 

In  a  letter  to  Dunbar^^  he  elaborated  the  details  of  his  plan. 
The  surveyor  general  for  the  district  north  of  the  Ohio  was  to  be 
authorized  to  explore  the  upper  Mississippi.  Upon  obtaining  the 
probable  authorization  of  Congress  he  proposed  to  send  an  expedi- 
tion up  the  Panis  and  down  the  Padoucas,  exploring  the  entire 
course  of  both  rivers,  and  another  for  the  Arkansas  and  the  Red. 
Each  party  was  to  take  careful  astronomical  observations  at  the 
source  of  each  river  explored,  and  from  the  data  thus  secured  it 
would  be  possible  to  construct  a  skeleton  map  of  Louisiana,  which 
in  contour  and  main  features  would  be  perfectly  correct,  and  whose 
details  could  be  filled  in  at  leisure.  For  information  of  the  country 
north  of  the  Missouri,  upon  which  stream  Lewis  and  Clark  were 
about  to  embark,  he  expected  to  depend  upon  British  fur  traders 
and  explorers. 

The  result  of  Jefferson's  quiet  personal  work  among  the  mem- 


12.  Jefferson,  Works,  Memorial  Edition,  X,  431  ff. 

13.  Jeffery's  ''American  Atlas''  (London,  1776),  shows  these  last 
four  rivers  with  somewhat  modified  spelling.  Their  equivalents  are  as 
follows  :  "  Panis  "  =  "  Platte  "  ;  "  Morsigona  "  (Moingona)  =  '*  Des 
Moines";  "Padouca"  (Padoucas.  Radoncas)="  Kansas";  *'St.  Peters" 
=** Minnesota".  The  name  "  Padoucas  "  also  given  to  north  fork  of 
tlie  Platte.     Coues,  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  60. 

y    14.     'WdLsKington  {Editor),  Writings  of  Jefferson,  YV,  SZ^. 

40 


bers  of  the  Eighth  Congress  appeared  in  a  report,  dated  March  8, 
1804,  from  the  Committee  on  Commerce  and  Manufactures.^^ 
After  hazarding  a  surmise  that  the  new  territory  extended  to  the 
Pacific,  the  report  touched  upon  previous  explorations  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  of  the  Gulf  Coast  by  Hutchins  and  Ellicott,  mentioned 
the  plans  for  penetrating  the  upper  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  and 
closed  by  advocating  the  Red  and  the  Arkansas  as  affording  the 
next  most  favorable  field  for  exploration.  For  this  nurpose  the 
government  should  utilize  the  services  of  private  individuals 
wherever  possible,  and  in  addition  should  grant  an  appropriation 
to  supplement  such  efforts. 

A  few  days  later  Jefferson  wrote  Dunbar^^  of  his  plan,  and 
asked  him  to  direct  the  expedition  up  the  Red  and  Arkansas,  in 
case  Congress  authorized  the  required  appropriation.  The  prepa- 
rations for  the  expedition  were  to  be  made  at  New  Orleans  and 
Natchez,  and  the  collector  of  customs  at  the  former  place  would 
honor  all  drafts  for  this  purpose.  The  instructions  to  the  leader 
v/ere  to  be  similar  to  those  issued  to  Lewis  and  Clark,  with  such 
additional  suggestions  as  Dunbar  should  thmk  necessary  to  add. 
"Still,  this  is  a  matter  of  speculation,"  added  the  President  warn- 
ingly,  for  Congress  was  hastening  matters  to  bring  its  session  to  a 
close,  "and  in  that  case  all  I  have  said  will  be  as  if  I  had  not  said 
it."  The  action  of  this  legislative  body  was  but  partially  favor- 
able, for  its  hurried  appropriation  was  only  $3,000,  barely 
sufficient  for  one  party.  This  Jefferson  determined  to  send  upon 
,  the  more  interesting  of  his  two  proposed  explorations ;  and  without 
waiting  for  Dunbar's  acceptance,  he  again  wrote,^'''  asking  him  to 
superintend  the  expedition  up  the  Red  and  Arkansas,  and  to  select 
its  leader.  For  this  position  he  suggested  a  Mr.  Walker,  of 
Mississippi,  or  a  Mr.  Gillespie,  of  North  Carolina,  both  of  whom 
had  served  under  Ellicott.  He  mentioned  the  fact  that  a  George 
Hunter,  of  Philadelphia,  would  accompany  the  expedition.  Doctor 
Hunter's  "fort,"  the  President  wrote,  "is  chemistry,  and  in  the 
practical  part  of  that  science  he  is  supposed  to  have  no  equal  in 
the   United   States."     He   warned    Dunbar   that   Hunter   might 


15.  Annals  8  Congress,  I,  1124-1126. 

16.  Washington  (Editor),  Works  of  Jefferson,  IV,  539. 

17.  Jefferson  Papers,  Series  1,  Vol.  10,  No.  00. 


41 


attempt  to  turn  the  expedition  into  a  prospecting  tour  for  gold  and 
silver  mines,  and  that  the  Doctor  must  not  be  allowed  thus  to 
defeat  the  main  purpose  of  the  expedition. 

In  his  replies  of  May  15  and  June  i  Dunbar^®  tempered  his 
expression  of  gratification  over  the  fact  that  Congress  had  author- 
ized the  expedition,  by  wishing  that  that  body  had  displayed  more 
liberality.  The  House  Committee  in  its  report  had  seemed  to 
take  it  for  granted  that  scientific  men  would  be  led  by  patriotism  to 
undertake  this  work  of  exploration.  While  many  might  be  influ- 
enced by  such  a  motive,  yet  in  the  case  of  a  talented  man  of  limited 
means,  it  would  be  at  the  expense  of  precious  time ;  and  when  a 
great  empire  spoke  of  compensation  it  should  be  adequate  to  the 
importance  of  the  task.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  the  proper 
man  in  the  vicinity  of  Natchez.  Of  the  two  men  mentioned  by 
Jefferson,  Gillespie  was  the  better  educated,  while  Walker,  then 
serving  in  the  Spanish  army,  possessed  the  greater  natural  talent ; 
but  neither  had  any  particular  qualification  for  the  work  aside  from 
a  knowledge  of  surveying.  He  believed  they  must  choose  a  man 
possessing  the  requisite  geographical  knowledge  and  that  they 
might  consider  themselves  fortunate  if  he  knew  anything  of 
natural  history,  botany,  or  mineralogy.  If  a  man  of  "only  mod- 
erate talents"  was  needed,  he  suggested  that  Doctor  Hunter  should 
command  the  expedition. 

The  instructions^^  for  the  director  of  the  expedition,  who  was 
to  act  under  Dunbar's  orders,  accompanied  the  President's  letter 
of  April  13,  1804.  In  general  they  followed  closely  those  pre- 
viously issued  to  Meriwether  Lewis.  From  Natchez,  the  point  of 
departure,  the  leader  was  to  conduct  the  party  to  the  remotest 
source  of  the  Red  River,  and  thence  to  the  highlands  dividing  the 
waters  of  this  stream  from  those  of  the  Bravo  (Rio  Grande)  and 
the  Pacific.  After  making  a  careful  exploration  of  these  high- 
lands, he  was  to  descend  ,the  Arkansas,  noting  upon  this  river,  as 
UTX>n  the  former,  the  important  natural  features  and  taking  numer- 
ous astronomical  observations.  With  regard  to  the  Indians,  he 
was  to  tell  them,  in  accordance  with  the  later  instructions  to  Lewis, 
that  the  Spaniards  had  agreed  to  withdraw  all  their  troops  '*from 


18.  Jefferson  Papers,  Series  2,  Vol.  28,  Nos.  62  and  63. 

19.  Jefferson  Papers,  Series  1,  Vol.  10,  No.  59. 


42 


the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  and  from  all  countries  watered  by 
any  rivers  running  into  them."^"  Thus  he  would  emphasize  the 
Jeffersonian  idea  of  the  extent  of  Louisiana.  In  view  of  the  pros- 
pective withdrawal  of  these  garrisons  and  the  change  in  allegiance 
of  subjects  residing  upon  these  tributaries,  they  were  to  suggest 
the  advantage  of  trade  relations  with  the  United  States  and  to 
confer  upon  the  establishment  of  trading  posts.  In  connection 
with  his  suggestions  upon  relations  with  "those  people,"  he  warns 
the  leader  of  the  party  not  to  persevere  in  his  exploration,  if 
threatened  by  a  superior  force,  ''authorized  or  not  authorized  by  a 
nation."  The  lives  of  the  members  of  the  expedition  were  too 
valuable  to  be  exposed  to  probable  destruction,  and  with  the  loss 
of  the  party  would  follow  the  loss  of  all  results  from  the  expedi- 
tion. The  fact  that  this  warning,  as  in  the  case  of  the  instructions 
to  Lewis,  follows  the  paragraphs  devoted  to  the  Indians,  seems  to 
imply  that  the  President  anticipated  the  use  of  this  alternative 
only  as  a  result  of  savage  opposition.  Yet  as  a  matter  of  fact  it 
was  only  used  in  yielding  to  the  Spaniards.^^  It  was  probably  an 
expedient  of  Jeffersonian  diplomacy  to  avoid  direct  mention  of 
possible  Spanish  opposition. 

Meanwhile,  during  the  month  of  May,  1804,  Dr.  George 
Hunter,  acting  under  the  instructions  of  the  Secretary  of  War, 
had  busied  himself  in  Philadelphia  in  the  purchase  of  provisions, 
Indian  presents,  medicines  and  instruments  for  the  proposed  expe- 
dition up  the  Red  River.^^  On  the  27th  of  May,  the  Doctor  and 
his  son  set  out  on  horseback  for  the  overland  journey  to  Pittsburg. 
After  eight  days  they  arrived  at  the  latter  place,  where,  with  better 
success  than  Lewis  had  the  previous  year,  they  spent  only  two 
weeks  in  superintending  the  construction  of  a  flat-bottomed  boat 


20.  In  view  of  developments  during  the  Freeman  expedition  (see 
Chap.  IX)  this  statement  would  hardly  arouse  additional  respect  for 
American  authority. 

21.  See  Chapter  IX. 

22.  For  his  movements  until  the  expedition  started  from  Natchez, 
the  16th  of  the  following-  October,  my  authority  is  the  Manuscript  Jour- 
nal of  George  Hunter  up  the  Red  and  Washita  River  with  Wm.  Dunbar, 
1804,  by  order  U.  S.  and  up  to  Hot  Springs.  This  manuscript  is  in  the 
possession  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia, 
where,  through  the  courtesy  of  Dr.  I.  Minis  Hays,  I  was  permitted  to 
examine  it. 

43 


to  convey  themselves  and  stores  to  Natchez.  The  details  of  their 
journey  to  the  latter  town  furnish  a  most  interesting  picture  of 
pioneer  travel  upon  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  but  are  not  directly 
connected  with  our  subject,  and  so  may  be  omitted.  The  Doctor 
records,  ''with  a  feeling  of  relief,"  that  on  the  24th  day  of  July 
they  made  fast  to  the  shore  at  Natchez. 

Although  Hunter  had  consumed  nearly  two  months  on  the  trip 
from  Philadelphia,  he  speedily  learned  from  Mr.  Dunbar  that  no 
preparations  had  been  made  for  the  expedition.  Lieut.  Col. 
Constant  Freeman,  the  commandant  of  the  garrison  at  New 
Orleans,  was  to  furnish  the  boat  and  military  escort,  but  had 
deferred  all  measures  until  Hunter's  arrival.  Dunbar  suggested 
that  the  Doctor  should  uroceed  with  his  boat  to  New  Orleans,  and 
if  no  better  one  could  be  procured,  have  some  alterations  made  in 
it,  buy  the  necessary  stores,  and  return  as  soon  as  possible  with  the 
military  escort.  Accordingly  Hunter  was  obliged  to  spend  the 
next  two  months  in  the  trip  to  New  Orleans  and  return,  and  in 
repairing  his  boat,  which,  although  constructed  for  use  on  a  large 
river,  was  the  only  one  procurable,  and  must  perforce  serve  for  the 
navigation  of  the  smaller  streams  that  they  planned  to  explore. 
With  a  far  from  efficient  crew,  composed  of  a  sergeant  and  twelve 
enlisted  men  from  the  New  Orleans  garrison,  and  with  his  make- 
shift boat.  Hunter,  in  the  latter  part  of  September,  again  reached 
the  proposed  starting  point  of  the  expedition,  St.  Catherine's 
Landing,  just  below  Natchez.  In  general,  one  gains  the  impres- 
sion from  the  pages  of  the  Doctor's  journal  that  only  a  very 
moderate  degree  of  alacrity  was  displayed  in  following  out  the 
details  of  the  President's  plan. 

During  Hunter's  stay  in  New  Orleans  there  had  been  an  entire 
change  in  the  plan  itself.  On  the  17th  of  July  Jefferson  wrote 
Dunbar^s  that  on  account  of  the  defection,  two  years  before,  to 
the  Arkansas  of  a  part  of  the  Little  Osage  Indians  the  expedition 
was  to  be  postponed  until  the  following  spring.  The  significance 
of  this  Indian  movement  had  but  just  been  explained  to  the  Presi- 
dent by  Pierre  Chouteau,  then  on  a  visit  to  Washington  with 
White  Hairs,  the  noted  Osage  chief,  and  some  of  his  companions. 
Chouteau  was  to  visit  the  Indians  during  the  winter  and  endeavor 

23.    Jefferson  Papers,  Series  1,  Vol.  10,  No.  124. 

44 


to  heal  the  schism,  so  that  the  Indians  might  not  merely  refrain 
from  hindering-  but  even  actively  aid  the  expedition.  "In  the 
meantime,"  added  the  President,  "we  shall  be  able  to  remove  the 
Spanish  impediments."  Dunbar,  however,  was  authorized  to 
make  use  of  the  men  and  stores  for  a  shorter  excursion ;  while  as  a 
result  of  the  delay  he  could  select  a  fully  qualified  leader.  The 
President  also  suggested  that  Dunbar  should  try  to  forward  the 
account  of  this  preliminary  trip  in  time  for  effective  use  with 
Congress. 

In  his  reply^*  Dunbar  announced  that  the  expedition  had  fortu- 
nately not  started,  that  no  geographer  had  been  engaged,  and  that 
no  one,  unless  it  were  Doctor  Hunter,  could  feel  disappointed 
because  of  the  postponement.  He  and  the  Doctor  together  would 
visit  the  Hot  Springs  at  the  headwaters  of  the  Washita.  This  was 
a  region  of  great  natural  interest,  which  the  main  party  in  the 
spring  would  be  unable  to  visit,  and  he  would  doubtless  obtain 
much  available  information  from  the  hunters  who  lived  at  the  post 
on  the  Washita.  He  added  another  reason  for  postponing  the 
main  expedition  in  the  fact  that  the  Spaniards  would  probably 
have  stopped  it  a  little  above  "Nakitosh."  As  Don  Nimecio  Sal- 
cedo,  the  Captam-General  of  the  Internal  Provinces  of  New  Spain, 
had,  in  the  preceding  May,  issued  orders  from  Chihuahua^^  that 
no  American  should  be  permitted  to  approach  the  Texas  frontier, 
or  to  mark  the  boundaries  of  Louisiana,  Dunbar's  surmise  apoears 
to  be  well  founded.  The  Washita  offered  the  advantage  of  having 
its  head  waters  protected  from  incursions  of  the  predatory  Osages 
by  a  group  of  rough  elevated  hills,  and  it  was  likewise  remote  from 
the  Spanish  outposts.  While  not  so  important  as  either  the  Red 
or  the  Arkansas,  the  river  promised  to  support  a  large  future 
population,  whose  pioneer  elements  were  already  settling  upon  its 
banks,  and  its  exploration  was  necessary  to  complete  the  chart  of 
our  new  territorial  acquisition.  These  considerations  to  a  certain 
extent  compensated  for  the  postponement  of  Jefferson's  more  com- 
prehensive plan  of  frontier  exploration. 


24.  Jefferson  Papers,  Series  2,  Vol.  28,  No.  64. 

25.  Salcedo  to  Governor  of  Texas,  May  3,  1804.     Bexar  Archives. 


45 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  HUNTER-DUNBAR  EXPEDITION  UP  THE 
WASHITA. 

The  route  of  the  Hunter-Dunbar  expedition  was  so  prudently 
chosen  that  no  untoward  event  occurred  to  render  it  memorable. 
On  the  afternoon  of  October  i6,  1804,  the  start  was  finally  made 
from  St.  Catherine's  Landing,  near  Dunbar's  plantation,  "The 
Forest."  The  personnel  of  the  party  consisted  of  Sir  William 
Dunbar,  George  Hunter  and  his  son,  a  sergeant  and  twelve 
enlisted  men,  and  Dunbar's  negro  servant.  The  route  covered  the 
distance  to  the  mouth  of  the  Red  River,  up  that  stream  to  the 
Black  or  Washita,^  to  the  Hot  Springs  near  the  source  of  the 
latter,  and  thence  the  return  by  the  same  streams — the  whole  occu- 
pying some  four  months  Naturally  the  major  part  of  the  details 
of  such  an  expedition  consists  ot  scientific  descriptions  of  the 
country  traversed  and  the  trivial  incidents  of  life  in  the  wilderness. 
Except  as  tending  to  throw  light  upon  the  general  methods  of 
frontier  exploration,  these  details  are  now  relatively  unimportant. 
Yet  their  observations  upon  the  contemporary  life  encountered 
along  the  river  banks  and  such  experience  as  they  gained  for  the 
use  of  succeeding  expeditions  more  than  repaid  the  cost  of  the 
attempt.^ 

1.  The  journals  describe  the  Black  as  flowing-  into  the  Red,  and  the 
Washita  into  the  Black. 

2.  At  this  point  it  may  be  well  to  indicate  the  sources  for  informa- 
tion concerning-  this  expedition.  In  addition  to  the  manuscript  journal 
of  Dr.  George  Hunter,  mentioned  above,  Mr.  Dunbar  kept  a  separate 
journal  which  was  published  by  Houghton,  Miflin  &  Co.,  1904,  under  the 
title,  ^'^  Documents  Relating  to  the  Purchase  and  Exploration  of  Louisiana. 
The  Exploration  of  the  Red,  the  Black,  and  the  Washita  Rivers ''\  by 
William  Dunbar.  A  summary  evidently  based  largely  upon  Dunbar's 
journal,  was  published  in  Annals,  9  Congress,  1110  ff.  If  one  should 
attempt  a  brief  characterization  of  the  two  journals  he  would  probably 
say  that  Dunbar's  is  the  more  scientific,  but  Hunter's  the  more  readable. 
As  a  picture  of  frontier  life  at  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century 
the  latter  well  merits  publication.  A  legend  on  the  title  page  of  the 
Hunter  Journal  says  that  an  abstract  of  it  was  published  by  order  of 
the  United  States  Government,  but  this  evidently  refers  to  the  summary 
mentioned  above.  The  legend  further  states  that  this  abstract  was  also 
published  as  an  appendix  to  one  of  the  volumes  of  Brown's  lyiterary 
Magazine,  of  Philadelphia.  From  the  incomplete  copy  in  the  library 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society  the  writer  judges  this  to  be  a 
reprint  of  the  same  g-overnment  publication. 

47 


The  population  along  the  river  was  a  never-failing  source  of 
interest,  especially  to  Dr.  Hunter.  The  greater  part  consisted  of 
Canadian  French  **of  few  wants  and  as  little  industry."  There 
were  a  number  of  Spanish  and  French  Creole  families,  apparently 
of  the  same  general  character  as  the  Canadians,  but  interspersed 
with  them,  were  a  few  of  a  higher  order  of  industry  and  intelH- 
gence.  Mingled  with  the  elements  surviving  from  the  previous 
regime  were  a  few  German,  Irish,  and  American  settlers  of  the 
frontier  type,  and  the  soldiers  of  the  post  on  the  Washita.  About 
this  post  were  grouped  some  150  families  of  this  nondescript  popu- 
lation. A  few  scattered  cabins  above  and  below  this  place,  with 
an  occasional  house  of  more  pretentious  appearance,  constituted 
the  settled  portion  of  the  country.  The  upper  sources  of  the  river 
were  marked  only  by  an  occasional  hunter's  lodge  or  "cache,"  used 
by  the  inhabitants,  white  and  Indian,  during  the  autumn  hunting. 
The  deer,  bear,  and  wild  fowl  of  the  swamps  and  forests  afforded 
the  greater  portion  of  the  food  supply  of  the  region ;  but  this  was 
supplemented  by  an  occasional  patch  of  Indian  corn  and  by  a  few 
wild  cattle,  kept  for  beef  rather  than  for  dairy  purposes.  Two 
large  land  grants,  affording  a  fertile  field  for  future  litigation, 
were  located  upon  the  Washita.  That  of  the  Marquis  of  Maison 
Rouge  was  located  below  Fort  Miro.  The  more  recent  one  to 
the  Baron  de  Bastrop,  soon  to  be  connected  with  Burr's  ambitious 
filibustering  project,  extended  twelve  leagues  square  above  it.  The 
greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  appeared  to  be  satisfied  with  the 
sway  of  Lieutenant  Bowman,  the  commandant  at  the  military  post. 

The  ordinary  method  of  propelling  the  boat  forward  was  by 
rowing,  all  twelve  of  the  soldiers  being  employed  at  once  at  this 
work.  Occasionally  the  wind  permitted  the  sail  to  be  used,  or 
good  walking  on  the  banks  offered  an  opportunity  for  "tracking" 
(towing).  Each  day  the  attempt  was  made  to  start  before  sun- 
rise, but  the  dilatoriness  of  the  soldiers  generally  prevented  this. 
Long  halts  were  made  at  eight  A.  M.  and  at  noon,  to  prepare 
meals,  take  observations,  and  permit  the  men  to  rest.  Owing  to 
the  size  of  the  boat  and  the  laziness  and  insubordination  of  the 
men,  they  were  seldom  able  to  make  more  than  one  and  a  half 
miles  an  hour.  Frequent  shoals,  logs,  and  trees  lodged  in  the  bed 
of  the  river ;  occasional  rapids,  "chutes,"  and  rocky  ledges ;  and  the 
gradual  subsidence  of  the  river,  added  to  the  difficulty  of  the 

48 


ascent.  Upon  their  arrival,  on  November  6,  at  Fort  Miro,  some 
196  miles  from  the  junction  of  the  Red  and  the  Mississippi,  they 
exchanged  their  boat  for  a  smaller  one  and  hired  a  guide.  This 
change,  as  Dunbar  wrote  Jefferson,^  v^as  rendered  necessary 
because  Hunter's  boat,  ''constructed  on  his  Chinese  model,"  proved 
to  be  "an  unprofitable  vessel."  A  little  well  advised  encourage- 
ment from  Mr.  Dunbar  gave  the  soldiers,  who  really  were  glad  to 
escape  the  fever-tainted  atmosphere  of  New  Orleans,  an  enthusi- 
astic interest  in  the  success  of  the  expedition.  The  journey  above 
Fort  Miro,  though  more  difficult,  was  a  marked  improvement  over 
the  first  part  of  the  way. 

At  the  Island  of  Mallet  the  travelers  discovered,  in  taking  the 
observation  of  November  15,  that  they  were  within  half  a  minute 
of  the  new  boundary  line  of  Orleans  Territory — the  thirty-third 
degree.  Here  they  lost  the  Spanish  moss  of  the  lower  courses  of 
the  rfver,  left  the  alluvial  swamps  for  higher  land,  and  observed 
other  marked  changes  that  differentiated  the  country  above  and 
below  the  new  limit.  A  week  later  they  passed  the  Caddo  "trace" 
leading  from  the  Red  to  the  Arkansas,  and  a  little  above  this  the 
Ecor(e)s  de  Fabri,  some  sand  hills  where  tradition,  detailed  by  the 
the  guide,  reported  that  leaden  plates  once  marked  the  boundary 
between  the  French  and  Spanish  colonial  possessions.  Naturally 
they  found  no  vestige  of  these  plates.'*  From  occasional  parties 
of   hunters   they   learned   many   facts   concerning  the   Red   and 


3.  Jefferson  Papers,  Series  2,  Vol.  28,  No.  66. 

4.  This  incident  affords  an  opportunity  to  contrast  the  style  of  the 
two  explorers.  Dunbar  records  in  a  matter  of  fact  way,  "It  is  reported 
that  a  line  of  demarcation  run  between  the  French  and  Spanish  prov- 
inces, when  the  former  possessed  L,ouisiana,  crossed  the  river  at  this 
place;  and  it  is  said  that  Fabri,  a  Frenchman,  and  perhaps  the  supposed 
eng-ineer,  deposited  lead  near  the  cliff  and  in  the  direction  of  the  line; 
we  could  not,  however,  obtain  any  authentic  account  of  this  matter, 
and  it  is  not  generally  believed."  CDunhsir's.  Journal,  page  59).  Hunter 
gives  more  zest  to  his  story,  "Our  pilot,  an  illiterate  man,  not  remark- 
able for  good  judgment  or  veracity,  mentions,  as  a  report,  which  he  has 
heard,  that  this  Fabri,  now  dead,  was  said  to  have  buried  a  piece  of  lead 
near  here,  as  a  line  mark,  of  the  division  of  territory  between  the 
French  and  the  Spaniards.  That  the  only  person  said  to  be  present 
when  this  was  done  immediately  disappeared;  that  hunters  who  encamp 
near  this  spot  still  hear  a  voice  in  the  night  calling  out,  Fabri !  Fabri ! 
The  whole  story,  no  doubt,  is  equally  well  founded.  By  what  I  can 
learn,  there  never  was  any  line  of  division  traced  out  between  these  two 
nations  this  way;  nor  is  there  the  least  reason  to  suppose  that  a  division 
line  for  that  purpose  could  run  within  a  great  distance  of  this  place.  It 
must  go  very  far  to  the  westward." 

49 


Arkansas,  Missouri  and -Platte  rivers,  the  Indians  living  upon 
them,  and  the  vast  plains  through  which  they  flowed. 

In  a  measure  this  m.ethod  of  procuring  information  answered 
the  purpose  of  Jefferson's  extended  plan.  Far  greater  service 
was  rendered  in  the  acquisition  of  practical  experience  for  the 
guidance  of  future  expeditions  of  this  sort.  It  was  speedily  dis- 
covered that  a  special  boat  was  needed  to  navigate  the  shallow 
waters  of  these  interior  streams.  It  was  likewise  noted  that  the 
discipline  of  a  detail  of  enlisted  men  could  not  be  maintained 
simply  by  a  non-commissioned  officer.  More  important  still  was 
the  result  of  the  experiment  in  transferring  some  baggage  from 
the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Washita  (the  Fourche  de  Chalfat), 
to  the  Hot  Springs.  Though  the  distance  was  less  than  nine  miles 
and  the  loads  carried  by  the  soldiers  purposely  made  very  light, 
they  complained  bitterly,  and  as  Dunbar  thought,  with  justice,  of 
the  difficulties  of  this  method  of  transporting  baggage.  The 
experiment  led  Dunbar  to  consider  the  vastly  increased  difficulty 
of  using  this  scheme  for  a  much  larger  company,  between  the  head 
waters  of  the  Red  and  the  Arkansas,  especially  when  they  were 
wholly  uncertain  of  the  distance.  In  accordance  with  Dunbar's 
suggestion,  the  President  modified  this  feature  of  his  original  plan. 

The  voyagers  reached  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Washita 
on  December  6,  and  started  on  their  return  journey  on  the  8th  of 
January.  The  interval  was  employed  in  observations  and  excur- 
sions in  the  vicinity  of  the  Hot  Springs.  The  snows  and  rains  of 
this  period  increased  greatly  the  volume  of  water  in  the  river,  and 
facilitated  their  descent.  On  the  i6th  they  were  at  the  post  on 
the  Washita  where  Dunbar  left  the  partv  to  return  overland  to 
his  home.  On  the  31st  Hunter  brought  the  boat  to  St.  Catherine's 
Landing,  and  on  the  9th  of  the  following  month  delivered  the 
escort,  safe  and  sound  to  a  man,  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Freeman 
at  New  Orleans. 

In  summarizing  his  work  upon  his  return'^  Dunbar  could  report 
nothing  of  great  importance.  The  Hot  Springs  were  a  great 
natural  curiosity,  but  the  season  was  unfavorable  for  botanical 
work.  The  expedition  had  aff^orded  some  experimental  knowledge 
that  might   later  prove   useful.     He  wished  to  prepare  a  brief 

^'    Jefferson  Papers,  Series  2,  Vol.  28,  Nos.  67  and  68. 

50 


abstract  oi  the  excursion,  to  be  forwarded  before  the  close  of  the 
session  of  Congress,  but  this  was  rendered  impossible  on  account 
of  the  bad  weather,  the  irregular  mails,  but  above  all  by  the  loss 
of  a  month  on  account  of  their  boat.  Dr.  Hunter's  ideas  in  its 
construction  were  entirely  wrong.  Dunbar's  unfortunate  col- 
league had  meanwhile  taken  passage  at  New  Orleans  for  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  arrived  April  i,  1805.  His  practice  had  suffered 
by  his  absence,  and  he  regretted  that  his  medical  knowledge  had 
really  been  of  so  little  service  on  the  expedition.  His  son  in  Phila- 
delphia and  Dunbar  in  Natchez  entered  upon  the  tedious  process 
of  calculating  their  respective  observations.  After  considerable 
delay  their  original  journals  and  their  summarized  contents  found 
appropriate  resting  places  in  the  vault  of  the  American  Philosoph-  / 
ical  Society  and  in  the  documents  of  the  Ninth  Congress,  where 
their  lot  was  a  century  of  almost  uninterrupted  repose.  At  this 
centennial  period  it  is  only  fitting  that  the  names  of  William 
Dunbar  and  George  Hunter  should  be  enrolled  among  those  who 
])layed  a  prominent  part  in  the  exploration  of  the  Louisiana  Pur- 
chase. 

Although  the  Hunter-Dunbar  expedition  did  not  explore  the 
Red  River,  as  originally  intended,  the  President,  during  this  winter 
of  1804-05,  received  from  another  source  some  information  con- 
cerning that  stream.  Dr.  John  Sibley  was  evidently  emboldened 
by  his  correspondence  with  Claiborne  to  communicate  directly 
with  Jefferson,  and  he  rightly  approached  by  the  scientific  channel. 
His  letter  of  March  20,  1804,^  after  opening  with  a  few  personal 
details,  was  devoted  to  a  description  of  the  bow-wood  tree.  In 
closing,  he  begged  leave  to  tender  his  services  in  any  capacity  the 
President  might  think  proper  to  command.  His  reward  came 
very  quickly,  first  in  the  appointment  as  surgeon's  mate  for  the 
troops  stationed  at  Natchitoches,  and  later  as  Indian  agent  for 
Orleans  Territory  and  the  region  south  of  the  Arkansas.'^ 

Sibley  was  evidently  a  past  master  in  the  art  of  attracting 
public  attention.  One  of  his  letters  to  a  Raleigh  friend  written 
during  1803,  found  its  way  into  print  in  the  East.^     A  similar  one 

6.  Jefferson  Papers,  Ser.  2,  Vol.  76,  No.  6. 

7.  See  pag-e  14. 

8.  The  Literary  Magazine  and  Annual  Register,  Vol.  8,  173,  174. 

51 


describing  the  Red  River,  was  later  published  in  Kentucky,  and 
was  followed  the  next  year  by  another.^  Possibly  these  letters 
strengthened  Sibley  with  the  administration,  but  they  aroused 
against  himself  a  storm  of  personal  abuse,  coupled  with  severe 
criticisms  of  his  accuracy  and  veracity.  His  personal  reputation 
was  not  wholly  proof  against  the  former,  while  his  tendency  to 
exaggeration  often  laid  him  open  to  the  latter;  yet  for  the  time 
being  he  was  the  sole  medium  for  geographical  information  from 
the  Red  River.  Late  in  1804  the  President  appointed  him  a  mem- 
ber of  the  governor's  council,  and  this  act  resulted  in  local 
protest,  not  only  against  Sibley,  but  indirectly  against  the  admin- 
istration. Claiborne  was  constrained  by  this  fact  to  express  a 
doubt  of  the  wisdom  of  the  appointment,  considering  the  Doctor's 
private  reputation ;  but  Jefferson  did  not  believe  the  charges  suffi- 
ciently proved,  nor  that  they  should  weigh  against  the  assurances 
of  others  and  the  Doctor's  unquestionable  good  sense  and  informa- 
tion.i<> 

When  Sibley  forwarded  to  Dearborn  his  first  Indian  report,^^ 
he,  perhaps  unwittingly,  selected  the  most  favorable  method  of 
gaining  the  President's  good  graces.  Having  once  discovered 
Jefferson's  taste  for  the  literature  of  the  aborigines,  he  kept  him 
supplied  with  Indian  vocabularies,  and  so  retained  his  good  will 
and  that  of  his  immediate  successor.^^  This  impression  he  height- 
ened by  a  description  of  the  Red  River  Valley,*^  based  upon  his 
own  travels,  in  1803  and  1804,  along  the  settled  portion  of  the 
river,  and  the  testimony  of  others,  particularly  his  interpreter, 
Francis  Grappe.  Although  the  latter  was  well  acquainted  with 
the  Louisiana  Texas  frontier,  the  fact  that  he  was  at  this  same  time 
in  Spanish  pay^^  would  tend  to  vitiate  his  testimony,  in  the  same 
measure  that  the  Doctor's  exuberant  imagination  often  made  his 
OAvn  statements  untrustworthy. 

Dr.  Sibley  was  in  no  sense  a  trained  scientific  observer,  so  his 


^'  Jefferson  Papers^  Series  2,  Vol.  76,  newspaper  clipping-. 

10.  Jefferson  Papers,  Ser.  1,  Vol.  10,  No.  300. 

11.  See  Chapter  VIII. 

12.  Jefferson  Papers,  Ser.  2,  Vol.  76,  Nos.  9-12. 

13.  Annals,  9  Cong.  2,  1089  fF. 

14.  Annals,    9  Cong.    2,  1088;    Salcedo  to  Iturrigary,    Aug.,   1806, 
Bexar  Archives. 

52 


description  was  largely  confined  to  subjects  that  would  appeal  to 
the  casual  traveler  or  prospective  settler.  He  mentioned  the 
names  of  the  various  settlements  upon  the  banks  of  the  river,  such 
as  Rapide,  Avoyelles,  Natchitoches,  Campti,  and  also  of  the 
more  important  isolated  establishments.  He  described  the  chief 
affluents  of  the  Red,  either  from  personal  observation  or  from 
the  reports  of  others,  and  from  his  practical  agricultural  stand- 
point, gave  a  fair  representation  of  the  river  system,  the  soil,  and 
its  productions.  But  he  made  predictions  regarding  natural 
products  that  succeeding  years  have  not  wholly  verified.  His 
description  of  the  population  was  interesting,  as  he  showed  the 
numerous  elements  that  composed  it,  and  that  the  more  progressive 
were  non-native.  In  this  particular  the  Red  simply  repeated  what 
others  had  observed  on  the  Washita.  Natchitoches,  the  most 
important  town,  was  only  a  miserable  settlement,  containing  less 
than  half  a  dozen  notable  structures,  and  was  in  a  worse  economic 
condition  than  in  1762.  All  of  the  industries  that  were  important 
were  apparently  in  American  hands,  and  that,  too,  while  Spain 
still  controlled  affairs.  His  report,  even  if  it  added  little  to  scien- 
tific knowledge,  was  a  most  effective  commentary  upon  four 
decades  of  Spanish  government. 


53 


V 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  LEADER  AND  A  PASSPORT  FOR  THE  RED  RIVER 
EXPEDITION. 

The  results  of  the  Hunter  and  Dunbar  expedition,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  reports  from  Sibley/  afforded  the  first  fairly  satis- 
factory picture  of  the  southern  portion  of  our  new  acquisition,  and 
apparently  stirred  up  Jefferson  to  signalize  his  second  adminis- 
tration by  its  exploration,  as  he  had  signalized  his  first  by  its  acqui- 
sition. March  12  he  wrote  Dunbar^  that  as  Congress  had  appro- 
priated $5,000.00  additional,  the  expedition  must  immediately  be 
set  on  foot.  One  of  the  most  important  questions  before  them  was 
the  selection  of  the  proper  scientific  men  to  direct  it.  Doctor 
Hunter  concluded  not  to  go,  nor  could  Dunbar  leave  his  private 
business.  Jefferson  first  mentioned  a  Mr.  Perse,  of  the  Post  Office 
Department,  and  as  a  possible  second  man  a  Parson  Wiley,  of  a 
Washington  academy.'^  C.  S.  Raffinesque  had  made  some  inqui- 
ries concerning  the  botanical  work  of  the  expedition,  but  the  place 
was  not  judged  worthy  of  his  attention.^  None  of  these  men 
proving  available,  Jefferson  suggested  to  Dunbar  a  certain  George 
Davis,  but  the  Mississippian  rejected  him  on  account  of  his  unfor- 
tunate personal  disposition,'"^  Finally,  to  avoid  further  delay,  a 
Mr.  Thomas  Freeman,  whom  Jefferson  had  previously  mentioned 
as  a  suitable  person  for  an  assistant,  and  who  had  for  a  time  served 
under  Andrew  Ellicott,  was  selected  as  its  official  head,  to  serve, 
however,  under  the  supervision  of  Dunbar.  Freeman  was  to 
manage  the  astronomical  work,  but  needed  the  assistance  of  a 
botanist,  and  mentioned^  Dr.  Carret  Pendergast  and  Dr.  Fred  Seip, 
both  residing  near  Natchez,  as  suitable  men  for  this  position.  It 
was  not  until  the  12th  of  January,    1806.    that    Jefferson    wrote 


1.  Annals,  9  Congress  2,  1097  ff. 

2.  Jefferson  Papers,  Series  1,  Vol.  10,  No.  268. 

3.  Ibid,  Series  1,  Vol.  10,  No.  271. 

4.  [bid.  Series  1,  Vol.  10,  No.  202. 

5.  Ibid,  Ser.  1,  Vol.  10,  No.  301;   Ser.  2,  Vol.  28,  No.  69. 

6.  Ibid,  Series  2,  Vol.  34,  No.  48. 

54 


Dunbar  '7  "We  hope  we  have  procured  a  good  botanist  to  accom- 
pany him"  (i.  e..  Freeman),  in  the  person  of  Dr.  Peter  Custis. 
There  still  remained  an  assistant  for  Mr.  Freeman.  Dunbar  first 
tried  to  obtain  Lieutenant  E.  P.  Caines,  but  as  he  could  not  leave 
his  post,  he  finally  selected  Lieutenant  Humphrey,  a  "young  officer 
of  considerable  talents,"  to  whom  Mr.  Freeman  seemed  "already 
particularly  attached."*^  This  selection  was  not  made  till  the  latter 
part  of  April,  upon  the  eve  of  the  departure  of  the  expedition. 
The  difficulty  in  securing  proper  officers  will  readily  account  for 
the  long  delay  in  getting  it  started.  Scientific  men,  possessing  the 
requisite  physical  stamina  for  frontier  exploration,  were  hard  to 
find  in  America  at  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  long  delay  in  selecting  a  leader  for  the  Red  River  expedi- 
tion imperiled  the  success  of  Jefferson's  plan,  not  merely  because 
of  the  threatened  falling  of  the  waters  of  that  river  with  the 
advance  of  the  season,  but  also  because  of  the  ebb  of  Congressional 
enthusiasm,  owing  to  the  non-appearance  of  tangible  results. 
Evidently  such  a  possibility  appealed  to  Dunbar  as  it  had  pre- 
viously to  Lewis,®  for  on  December  7,  1805,  he  wrote  Jefferson,^^ 
proposing  a  brief  excursion  with  a  corporal  and  four  men,  up  the 
Little  Missouri,  a  tributary  to  the  Washita.  The  party  of  the 
previous  year  had  been  unable  to  explore  this  stream  on  account 
of  the  presence  of  hostile  Indians,  and  it  was  reputed  to  drain  a 
country  rich  in  iron  mines.  There  was  no  occasion,  however,  to 
put  this  scheme  into  operation. 

Jefferson's  new  instructions  to  Dunbar,"  dated  May  25,  1805, 
show  one  result  derived  from  the  preliminary  expedition  of  the 
previous  year.  On  account  of  the  difficulty  of  transporting  bag- 
gage from  the  head  of  the  Red  River  to  that  of  the  Arkansas,  and 
because  of  the  dangers  to  be  apprehended  from  the  Osagcs,  the 
President  determined  to  confine  "the  ensuing  mission  to  the  ascent 
of  the  Red  River^^  to  its  source,  and  to  descend  the  same  river 

7.  Ibid,  Series  1,  Vol.  11,  No.  95. 

8.  Ibid,  Series  2,  Vol.  28,  No.  74. 

9.  See  pag-e  20. 

10.  Jefferson  Papers,  Ser.  2,  Vol.  28,  No.  72. 

11.  Washing-ton,  Writings  of  Jefferson,  IV,  577  ff. 

12.  As  late  as  March  28,  1806,  Jefferson  g-av^e  Dunbar  the  option  of 
exploring-  the  Arkansas  first,  if  he  so  desired,  [efferso?!  Papers,  Series 
1,  Vol.  1,  No.  167. 


ag-ain."  Dunbar  was  also  to  write  Governor  Claiborne,  of  Orleans 
Territory,  to  secure  from  the  Marquis  of  Casa  Calvo,  the  Spanish 
boundary  commissioner,  a  passport  for  the  party.  The  fact  that 
they  were  empowered  to  trade  with  the  Indians  should  guarantee 
a  favorable  reception  from  them,  and  the  members  of  the  expedi- 
tion were  to  do  everything  in  their  power  to  attach  them  to  the 
United  States  government,  especially  in  view  of  the  state  of  its 
aflfairs  with  Spain.  In  the  latter  part  of  this  letter  Jefferson  thus 
touched  upon  two  factors — Spanish  frontier  officials  and  neigh- 
/l3oring  Indians — that  were  to  elevate  this  expedition  to  interna- 
tional importance. 

On  the  following  day,  in  order  doubly  to  insure  the  success  of 
the  expedition,  Jefferson  gave  more  minute  directions  to 
Claiborne^"  concerning  the  passport  he  wished  to  obtain  from  Casa 
Calvo.  He  was  to  assure  the  Marquis  that  the  expedition  would 
go  no  farther  than  the  sources  of  the  Red  River ;  but  as  even  within 
this  limit  they  might  meet  unexpected  opposition  from  parties  of 
Spanish  citizens,  a  passport  would  prove  a  precautionary  measure 
to  prevent  irresponsible  breaches  of  peace.  Claiborne  was  to  em- 
phasize the  scientific  character  of  the  expedition,  and  as  ^roof  of 
this,  to  offer  to  receive  one  or  two  Spanish  representatives  as  mem- 
bers of  the  party.  Claiborne  should  furthermore  call  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  western  boundary  was  still  unsettled,  as  an  addi- 
tional reason  for  exploring  the  disputed  region.  As  each  nation, 
according  to  Jefferson,  had  an  equal  claim  to  the  country,  each 
likewise  had  an  equal  right  to  obtain  information  in  behalf  of  its 
claim.  If  the  Marquis  should  refuse  to  appoint  a  representative, 
or  to  give  a  passport,  Claiborne  was  to  intimate  as  diplomatically 
as  possible  that  the  Spanish  government  would  be  held  responsible 
for  any  violence  offered  the  party. 

The  Marquis  of  Casa  Calvo  had  been  a  governor  of  Louisiana 
under  the  Spanish  regime,  and  came  to  the  province  a  second  time 
in  April,  1803,  to  act  as  one  of  the  commissioners  for  Spain  in  its 
transfer  to  France.  After  its  delivery  to  that  power,  and,  later, 
to  the  United  States,  he  still  continued  at  New  Orleans  in-^e 
capacity  as  commissioner  to  mark  the  limits  between  the  posses- 
sions of  His  Catholic  Majesty  and  those  of  the  United  States. 

13.    Jefferson  Papers.  Series  1,  Vol.  10,  No.  30(). 

56 


Due  notice  of  his  new  appointment  was  given  to  the  American 
officials  and  to  those  of  the  Internal  Provinces  as  well.^*  He 
speedily  hecame  an  object  of  suspicion  to  the  American  authorities, 
who  distrusted  his  motives  in  remaining  at  New  Orleans;  and 
likewise  was  viewed  with  jealousy  by  his  fellow  colonial  associates 
in  Texas  and  Chihuahua.  As  his  later  correspondence  showed, 
both  had  cause  for  their  respective  attitudes.  In  June,  1804,  he 
wrote  Juan  Bautista  Elguezabal,'"  then  governor  of  Texas,  that 
he  had  definite  information  of  Jefferson's  intention  to  send  an 
expedition  up  the  Red  River;  and  he  assured  the  gfovernor  that 
the  mere  reading  of  this  information  should  lead  him  to  take  urgent 
and  immediate  measures  to  hinder  or  even  destroy  such  expedi- 
tions, in  order  to  preserve  in  their  integrity  the  vast  and  rich  pos- 
sessions of  His  Majesty.  At  least  the  law  of  nations,  he  sug- 
gested, would  permit  the  governor  to  delay,  in  the  beginning,  the 
progress  of  this  dreaded  enterprise.  During  the  same  month,  and 
also  in  the  following  September,  he  communicated  dispatches  of 
similar  tenor  to  Don  Pedro  Cevallos,  the  Spanish  Minister  of  State 
for  Foreign  Affairs,^*'  in  the  course  of  which  he  recommended 
measures  not  merely  to  prevent  the  exploration  of  the  Arkansas 
and  Colorado  (Red),  but  also  to  impede  the  progress  of  Captain 
"Lewis  Merry  Whether"  up  the  Missouri. 

Accordingly,  a  3'ear  later,  when  Claiborne  approached  Casa 
Calvo^''  for  a  passport  for  the  Dunbar  party,  the  Marquis  was  not 
a  little  embarrassed  to  know  what  to  do.  In  his  request,  Claiborne 
closely  followed  his  instructions,  and  dwelt  upon  Dunbar's  skill, 
reputation,  and  services  for  both  governments,  and  tlie  similarity 
of  this  undertaking  to  Humboldt's  well-known  tour.  In  addition 
Claiborne's  request  was  endorsed  by  Andres  Lopez  Armesto,  the 
former  secretary  of  the  province  and  the  present  secretary  of  Casa 
Calvo's  boundary  commission.  In  his  perplexity  the  Marquis 
determined  to  grant  the  passport  and  appoint  some  one  to  repre- 
sent Spain,  but  at  the  same  time  not  to  compromise  himself  nor 
interfere  with  the  action  of  Captain-General  Salcedo. 


14.  Claiborne  to  Madison,  Feb.  26,  May  13,  1804.  Claiborne  Corre- 
spondence, I.  Salcedo  to  Governor  of  Texas,  May  3,  1804.  Bexar 
Archives. 

15.  Casa  Calvo  to  Klgfuezabal,  June  27,  1804.     Bexar  Archives. 

16.  Casa  Calvo  to  Cevallos,  July  IS,  1805.    New  Mexico  Archives, 

17.  Ibid. 

57 


Casa  Calvo  believed  the  scientific  object  of  the  expedition  to  be 
a  simple  pretext  to  hide  the  President's  territorial  ambition.  But 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Americans  possessed  the  right  bank  of 
the  Mississippi  and  the  mouths  of  the  Red  and  Arkansas,  they 
could  hardly  be  prevented  from  navigating-  those  streams,  espe- 
cially as  the  true  limits  of  the  two  countries  were  not  accurately 
defined.  Moreover,  because  of  the  progress  already  made  by 
Captain  Lewis,  it  would  be  impossible  to  restrain  the  Americans 
short  of  actual  hostilitie  s.  He  believed  war  to  be  inevitable  and, 
accordingly,  did  not  wish  to  lose  this  opportunity  to  learn,  not 
merely  the  character  of  the  country  that  would  be  the  probable 
seat  of  action,  but  also  the  plans  and  real  knowledge  possessed  by 
the  Americans.  So  he  answered  Claiborne^^  with  apparent  cor- 
diality, expressing  his  belief  in  the  scientific  character  of  the  expe- 
dition. At  the  same  time  he  added  that  as  the  upper  part  of  the 
rivers  in  question  bordered  on  Texas  and  perhaps  on  the  provinces 
farther  in  the  interior,  he  must  give  due  notice  of  the  expedition 
to  Captain-General  Salcedo,  to  enable  the  latter  to  take  such 
measures  as  his  instructions  required.  Armesto  then  wrote  the 
General^^  concerning  the  situation  and  left  him  to  do  what  he 
judged  necessary.  Casa  Calvo's  whole  course  seems  directed  with 
a  view  to  avoid  giving  oflfense  to  the  American  authorities,  who 
might  cut  short  his  stay  at  New  Orleans;  to  establish  himself 
firmly  with  the  administration  at  Madrid;  and  to  throw  upon 
Salcedo  the  final  decision  in  the  matter  of  the  exploring  expedition. 

If  Casa  Calvo  was  unwilling  to  assume  this  responsibility,  the 
case  was  far  dififerent  with  the  bluff  soldier  who  then  ruled  at 
Chihuahua.  In  his  reply^^  to  the  Marquis  he  bluntly  informed  the 
latter  that,  although  the  expedition  bore  his  passport,  he,  as 
Captain-General,  understood  the  interests  of  his  government  and 
should  protect  those  interests  against  the  proposed  incursion.  He 
professed  to  see  in  the  expedition  and  in  that  of  "Mr.  Merri"  along 
the  Missouri,  simply  an  attempt  to  gain  military  knowledge  of  the 
country  or  to  tamper  with  the  allegiance  of  the  Indians.  The 
Spanish  government  needed  no  geographical  knowledge  of  the 

18.  Casa  Calvo  to  Claiborne,  July  18,  1805.     New  Mexico  Archives. 

19.  Andres  L/opez  Armesto  to  Salcedo,  July  15,  1805.     Nciv  Mexico 
Archives. 

20.  Salcedo  to  Casa  Calvo,  Oct.  8,  1805.     Bexar  Archives. 

58 


country,  already  thoroughly  explored  by  its  traders;  and  if  the 
Americans  wished  to  obtain  such  knowledge,  he  would  cheerfully 
furnish  it  upon  proper  application  to  his  department.  In  view  of 
the  danger  to  their  Indian  allies,  all  expeditions  from  the  United 
States  must,  for  the  present,  be  suspended ;  and  to  this  regulation 
Dunbar's  expedition  must  conform. 

Just  six  days  before  this,  Salcedo  had  written  Iturrigaray,^!  the 
Viceroy  of  New  Spain,  complaining  of  the  expansion  policy  of  the 
American  government,  especially  noticeable  in  their  exploring 
expeditions  and  Indian  negotiations,  and  expressing  a  fear  that  a 
new  expedition  was  to  be  introduced  under  Casa  Calvo's  passport. 
When  surmise  became  reality,  it  is  not  at  all  strange  that  his  repl> 
to  the  Marquis  was  not  more  gracious,  or  that  he  took  occasion  to 
make  his  conduct  the  object  of  serious  complaint  at  Madrid.^^  He 
immediately  ordered^^  the  new  governor  of  Texas,  Antonio 
Cordero,  to  detach  a  force  from  the  frontier  posts  of  Texas  to 
watch  the  Colorado  (Red)  and  Napestle  (Upper  Arkansas)  for 
the  Dunbar  expedition.  If  encountered,  the  members  of  the 
patrolling  force  should  compel  it  to  remain  under  their  "opportune 
protection"  until  it  withdrew.  The  Spaniards  should  especially 
observe  the  intercourse  of  the  expedition  with  the  Indians ;  and  by 
cleverly  utilizing  their  own  native  allies,  they  might  cut  off  its 
provisions  and  thwart  it  at  the  beginning. 

It  was  not  merely  the  explorers  bearing  duly  attested  passports 
that  were  causing  the  Captain-General  uneasiness,  but  likewise 
spies,  and  the  equally  unacceptable  trappers  and  general  traders, 
whom  love  of  adventure  or  of  gain  lured  into  the  far  Southwest. 
With  reference  to  operations  of  the  first  class,  Salcedo  and  his 
underlings  were  by  no  means  free  from  censure.  From  the  Lou- 
isiana frontier,  they  were  kept  well  informed  of  American  move- 
ments, through  the  activity  of  Felix  Trudeau,^*  the  former  Spanish 
commandant  at  Natchitoches  and  now  a  resident  of  that  com- 
munity :  of  Samuel  Davenport  and  Edward  Murphy,^^  naturalized 

21.  Salcedo  to  Iturrigaray,  Oct.  2,  1805.     Bexar  Archives. 

22.  Coues,  Expeditions  of  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike,  II,  612,  613. 

23.  Salcedo  to  Cordero,  Oct.  8,  1805.     Bexar  Archives. 

24.  Roderig-uez  to  Cordero,  Dec.  18,  1805.     Bexar  Archives. 

25.  Turner  to  Claiborne,  Aug-.  30, 1804.     Claiborne  Correspondence,  I. 

59 


Spanish  subjects  and  fur  traders,  who  from  their  occupation  were 
prepared  to  furnish  information  to  both  sides;  and  of  Francis 
Grappe,^*^  who  apparently  with  equal  readiness  acted  as  Indian 
interpreter  for  Sibley  or  for  Salcedo. 

In  view  of  this  fact  there  is  some  justification  in  the  Ameri- 
cans adopting  a  like  policy,  and  we  have  some  indications  that  they 
did.  On  February  26,  1805,  Dearborn  wrote  Wilkinson^^  that  in 
view  of  reported  Spanish  movements  in  "Louisiana  and  vicinity" 
it  was  highly  desirable  to  learn  the  purport  of  any  such  in  the 
country  between  the  Rio  Bravo  and  the  Red,  and  particularly  "to 
know  what  was  doing  in  St.  Antonio  and  the  St.  Bernard  Bay." 
Trappers  and  hunters  were  the  proper  persons  to  employ  in  this 
service,  for  which  they  were  to  be  paid  while  in  government  em- 
ploy. Early  in  the  following  Septem.bcr  Wilkinson,  from  St. 
Louis,  reported-^  concerning  a  certain  Captain  Stille,  that  he  "had 
been  again  despatched  to  the  westward,  and  I  hope  he  may  before 
this  reaches  you,  have  been  able  to  ascertain  and  apprize  for  you 
the  disposition  of  the  Spaniards  at  the  Orcoquisanes  (Orcoquisac 
=Trinity )  and  Matta  Gorda.  Captain  Turner,  too,  may  I  hope 
from  a  |  reconnaisance  ?]  which  he  was  instructed  to  make  have 
been  able  to  give  you  information  of  the  dispositions  at  Naco- 
doches  (sic)  and  St.  Antonio." 

These  references  show  that  there  was  a  readiness  on  the  part 
of  the  American  authorities  to  counteract  with  their  own  peculiar 
methods  the  efforts  of  their  border  rivals.  The  greater  part  of 
the  information  they  acquired  in  this  way  seems  to  have  been 
through  the  Indians,  and  was  of  suah  a  character  as  to  lead  them 
to  exaggerate  the  strength  of  their  opponents  and  to  misinterpret 
their  movements. 

Still  more  troublesome  to  the  Spaniards  appeared  the  threat- 
ened irruption  of  unauthorized  trappers  and  traders.  On  Julv  16, 
1804,  Captain  Edward  Turner  informed  Claiborne-^  of  a  typical 


26.  Annals,  9  Cong-.  2,  1097;  Salcedo  to  Cordero,  Aug.  13,  1805. 
Hexar  Archives. 

27.  Dearborn  to  Wilkinson,  Feb.  26,  1805.  MSS.  Wilkinson  Papers 
IL  For  use  of  these  papers  I  am  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  the  Board 
of  Directors  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society. 

28.  Wilkinson  to ,  Sept.  7,  1805.     MSS.     Wilkinson  Papers. 

29.  Turner  to  Claiborne,  July  16,  1804.     Claiborne  Correspondenee. 


instance  of  this  sort.  A  certain  American  named  Sanders  had 
penetrated  some  500  miles  up  the  Red  River  to  the  Pawnees,  and 
found  them  anxious  to  trade  with  the  Americans.  Sanders  was 
pursued  by  the  Spaniards,  but  managed  to  elude  them,  and  arrived 
safeiy  at  Natchitoches.  This  adventurer  preceded  Jefferson's  pro- 
posed expedition  by  some  two  years,  and  probably  penetrated 
farther  than  Freeman  finally  reached.^^  The  Spanish  authorities 
ri§"htly  feared  such  attempts  far  more  than  a  regular  expedition 
that  moved  forward  openly  under  governmental  responsibility. 
The  latter  was  subject  to  diplomatic  pressure;  no  amount  of 
frontier  precaution  could  circumvent  among  Indian  allies  the 
subtle  influence  of  the  ambitious  trader  and  errant  trapper.  In  the 
far  Southwest  the  peril  from  these  became  especially  threatening 
during  this  period,  and  added  not  a  little  to  the  anxiety  with  which 
the  Captain-General  watched  American  aggression,  which  he  was 
too  weak  to  check  with  efficiencv. 


30.     See  Chapter  IX. 


61 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SPANISH  EXPEDITIONS  ALONG  THE  LOUISIANA 

BORDER. 

The  notice  of  the  appointment  of  Marquis  Casa  Calvo  as 
boundary  commissioner  was  communicated  to  the  Spanish  officials 
in  Texas;  and  on  May  3,  1804,  General  Salcedo,  writing  to  that 
effect  to  the  governor  of  Texas/  ordered  that  no  American  should 
be  permitted  to  approach  its  frontier  or  in  any  way  be  allowed  to 
mark  alone  the  limits  of  Louisiana.  Two  months  later  Jose 
Joaquin  Ugarte,  who  commanded  the  Texan  frontier,  dutifully 
wrote  the  governor,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Juan  Bautista  Elgue- 
zabal,^  that,  in  accordance  with  instructions,  he  should  nermit  no 
Anglo-Americans  to  approach  Spanish  territory,  for  fear  they 
would  mark  the  boundary  unmindful  of  Spanish  interests. 

A  French  traveler,  C.  C.  Robin,  who  chanced  to  be  in  Louisiana 
at  the  time  of  its  transfer  to  the  United  States,  rendered  most  effi- 
cient service  to  Casa  Calvo.  A  few  days  after  the  ceremony  of 
transfer  he  passed  up  the  Mississippi,  the  Red,  and  the  Washita, 
and  finally  arrived  at  the  post  on  the  latter  river  a  few  days  before 
its  transfer  to  Lieutenant  Bowm^an,  of  whom,  because  of  his  youth, 
he  seems  to  have  formed  an  unfavorable  opinion.^  After  record- 
ing his  observations  concerning  the  extremely  mixed  population  of 
the  region,  he  returned  to  New  Orleans,  where  he  had  an  inter- 
view with  Casa  Calvo,  and  explained  to  him  the  value  of  the 
country  lying  between  Louisiana*  and  Mexico.  This  strip  of  ter- 
ritory, 250  leagues  from  east  to  west,  and  extending  from  the  Gulf 
to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  was  coveted  by  the  Americans,  and  their 
threatened  occupation  formed  a  menace  to  the  frontier  lands  and 
mines  of  Mexico.    To  avoid  this  danger  the  Spaniards  must  people 


1.  Salcedo  to  Governor  of  Texas,  May  3,  1804.     Bexar  Archives. 

2.  Ug-arte  to  Elg-uezabal,  July  4,  1804.     Bexar  Archives. 

3.  Robin:   Voyages  dans  L'Intef'ieur  de  la  Louisiana,  etc.,  II,  298, 
328,  384. 

4.  His  memoir,  shows  that  in  his  opinion,  Louisiana  included  very 
little  territory  beyond  the  Mississippi. 

62 


this  intervening  strip.  This  could  easily  be  done,  for,  under 
Spanish  control,  immigrants  would  flock  in  from  Europe  and 
America,  as  was  clearly  shown  by  the  conditions  on  the  Washita. 
The  fur  trade  and  other  industries  would  thus  pass  into  the  hands 
of  Spanish  subjects.  The  American  government,  he  believed, 
was  doing  nothing  to  advance  American  settlement.  The  forest 
Americans  (back-woodsmen)  were  not  comparable  to  the  robust 
French  as  emigrants,  while  the  American  government,  ready  to 
make  sacrifices  to  preserve  the  peace,  would  never  adopt  a  policy 
of  warlike  expansion.  It  was  a  most  favorable  opportunity  for 
Spain  to  seize  a  strategical  position  to  resist  American  advance- 
ment.^ 

Although  Robin  was  not  greatly  mistaken  in  saying  that  the 
American  government  did  little  to  advance  settlement  to  the  west- 
ward, it  is  needless  to  point  out  that  he  was  entirely  wrong  in  his 
judgment  of  the  fitness  of  American  citizens,  and  especially 
the  backwoodsmen,  for  colonization.  Nevertheless,  he  seems  to 
have  impressed  Casa  Calvo  with  his  reasoning,  and  the  latter  and 
his  secretary,  Armesto,  requested  him  to  favor  them  with  his 
opinion  upon  the  limits  of  Louisiana.  He  departed  from  New 
Orleans  upon  a  second  tour  to  the  westward ;  and  after  consulta- 
tion of  documents  and  of  the  best  informed  persons  in  the 
province,  he  prepared  a  memoir  and  forwarded  it  to  the  Marquis 
from  Attakapas.^ 

The  memoir  of  Robin  strongly  justified  the  later  position  of 
the  Spaniards  towards  American  explorations.  Following  this, 
on  July  6,  1804,  Casa  Caivo  issued  a  passport  to  Juan  Minor,  a 
resident  of  Natchez,  to  visit  Bahia  and  San  Antonio,  in  Texas, 
upon  necessary  royal  business,  of  which  the  character  was  not 
stated.*^  This,  however,  was  given  in  a  letter  of  instructions  sent 
by  Captain-General  Salcedo  at  Chihuahua  to  Governor  Elgue- 
zabal  of  Texas.  This  letter  stated  that  Minor  had  been  commis- 
sioned by  Casa  Calvo  to  pass  from  Natchitoches  to  mark  the 

£.     Robin,  III,  117,  118. 

6.  The  memoir  beg-ins  on  pag-e  141  of  Volume  III  of  his  Voyages. 

7.  Passport  to  Juan  Minor,  N.  O.,  July  6,  1804.  Bexar  Archives. 
Minor  had  served  with  EHicott  as  Spanish  representative  upon  the 
Southern  Boundary  Commission.  L/ater  he  was  an  important  friend  of 
Aaron  Burr. 

63 


boundary  line  of  Louisiana.,  after  a  due  examination  of  the  rivers 
and  of  the  coast.  Salcedo  instructed  the  governor,  upon  the  ap- 
pearance of  Minor,  to  examine  closely  his  commission,  orders,  and 
instructions ;  to  have  him  state  clearly  what  he  had  thus  far  done ; 
and  to  show  his  means  for  carrying-  his  plans  into  execution.  He 
was  especially  to  declare  his  citizenship ;  if  he  claimed  to  be  a  sub- 
ject of  the  king,  he  was  to  be  furnished  a  guard  to  Chihuahua,  if 
of  the  United  States,  he  was  not  to  be  permitted  to  enter  the 
province.  In  his  reply^  the  governor  echoed  his  superior's  suspi- 
cions regarding  Minor,  and  promised  to  obey  his  injunctions. 

On  the  4th  of  September  Ugarte,  at  Nacogdoches,  reported  to 
Elguezabal^  that  he  was  watching  closely  the  movements  of  Minor. 
On  September  13,  Minor  presented  himself  at  Nacogdoches,  but 
he  claimed  that  he  had  merely  verbal  instructions  to  pass  from  that 
place  to  the  Trinity,  to  descend  this  river  and  explore  the  neigh- 
boring creeks  and  bays,  and  make  a  map  for  Casa  Calvo.^^  Later, 
the  governor  of  Texas^^  advised  Ugarte  to  detain  him  at  Nacog- 
doches, to  await  Salcedo's  pleasure.  On  the  21st  of  the  following 
November  the  governor  again  informed  Salcedo^-  that  Juan 
Minor  and  two  others,  one  of  whom  was  Hugo  Coyle,  an  Irish 
surveyor,  had  directed  written  petitions  asking  to  be  admitted  into 
Texas;  but  that  he  had  ordered  Minor  to  await  Salcedo's  deter- 
mination. Evidently  it  was  well  that  he  did  so,  for  he  later  learned 
from  Salcedo  that  the  latter  withdrew  the  permission  given  Minor 
to  survey  the  boundary. ^'"^  The  attitude  of  Salcedo  from  the  very 
first  emphasized  the  fact  that  the  Texas  officials  were  jealous  of 
Casa  Calvo,  and  were  going  as  far  as  they  dared  in  thwarting  his 
plans. 

The  next  move  of  the  Spaniards  on  the  frontier  seemed  relig- 
ious rather  than  political,  for  it  was  a  pastoral  visit  paid  by  the 
Bishop  of  Nuevo  Leon,  in  whose  diocese  Texas  belonged,  to  the 
town  and  garrison  of  Natchitoches,  where  he  was  respectfully 


8.  Elg-uezabal  to  Salcedo,  August  29,  1804.     Bexar  Archives. 

9.  Ug-arte  to  Elguezabal,  September  4,  1804.     Bexar  Archives. 

10.  Ug-arte  to  EJlg-uezabal,  October  1,  1804.     Bexar  Archives. 

11.  Ulg^uezabal  to  Salcedo,  October  10,  1804.     Bexar  Archives. 

12.  Elg-uezabal  to  Salcedo,  November  21,  1804.     Bexar  Archives. 

13.  Governor  of  Texas  to  Salcedo,  Dec.  5,  1804.     Bexar  Archives. 


64 


received  by  Captain  Turner,  as  the  Bishop  himself  reported^"* 
"with  the  honors  of  a  general."  The  Bishop  further  added  that 
although  he  himself  was  vcrv  reserved  and  politic  in  his  conversa- 
tions, the  French  complained  unceasingly  of  their  situation  under 
the  new  government.  The  malcontents  expressed  the  desire  to 
emigrate  to  Texas,  which  "those  republicans"  (the  Americans) 
already  claimed  as  far  as  the  Rio  Grande.  Governor  Claiborne, 
who  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  fact  that  the  Bishop  kept  a 
journal  in  which  he  recorded  the  latitude  of  many  of  the  places 
visited  and  the  results  of  his  minute  inquiries  regarding  the 
geography  of  Louisiana,  and  that  upon  leaving  Natchitoches  he 
took  the  most  direct  route  to  the  City  of  Mexico,  characterized  his 
visit  as  political  rather  than  ecclesiastical.^^ 

In  the  loyalty  of  the  Indians  the  Captain-General  at  Chihuahua 
had  a  far  more  important  frontier  object  to  occupy  his  attention 
than  a  mere  uncertain  boundary  line,  and  he  was  determined  to 
lose  no  time  in  useless  explorations  while  this  object  remained 
unattained.  Acting  upon  his  suggestion,  in  the  fall  of  iSod^  the 
governor  of  New  Mexico  despatch^d^-a-iorce-ai-Aftv-two  men, 
under  Pedro  Vidal  and  Jose  Calvert,  to  visit  the  Panana  (Paw- 
nees), Lobos  (Pawnee-Loups),  and  Ottoes,  dwelling  upon  the 
Missouri,  Napeste  (NapestIe=Arkansas),  Kansas,  and  Chato 
(Platte?).  The  express  object  of  this  visit  was  to  make  peace 
with  them  and  to  prevent  them  from  trading  with  the  Americans. 
Early  in  November  the  expedition  returned,  because  attacked  near 
the  Arkansas  by  a  large  force  of  Indians.  Although  the  Span- 
iards did  not  know  to  what  tribes  the  attacking  party  belonged, 
they  reported  their  suspicion  that  their  opponents  had  been 
seduced  by  American  gifts.  Undeterred  by  this  failure,  Salcedo 
planned  for  the  next  year  a  second  and  larger  expedition. ^^ 

The  matter  of  presents  for  the  Indians  on  the  Missouri  reap- 


14.  Bishop  of  Nuevo  L,eon  to  Viceroy,  June  20,  1804.  Bexar 
Archives. 

15.  Claiborne  to  Madison,  June  6,  1805.  Claiborne  Correspondence^ 
III.  In  1836,  the  Mexican  Minister  to  the  United  States,  claimed  that 
this  visit  was  evidence  that  Spain  still  exercised  political  jurisdiction  as 
far  as  the  Arroyo  Hondo  and  Red.  Cf.  Docu^nentos  para  la  Historia  de 
Mexico.     Ser.  1,  Tomo  VI. 


16.     Salcedo  to  Governor  of  New  Mexico,  Oct.  24,  1^04;  Jan.  16, 1805; 
New  Mexico  Archives. 


leoi^ 


65 


peared  in  Salcedo's  correspondence  during  the  year  1805,  while 
the  determination  to  break  up  any  commerce  between  them  and 
the  Americans  became  strengthened  by  the  arrival  in  New  Mexico 
of  several  French  and  American  trappers,  who  had  drifted  from 
the  valley  of  the  Missouri  to  that  of  the  Rio  Grande.^^  On  No- 
vember 27,  1805,  a  second  expedition  of  twenty-five  men,  under 
Juan  Lucero,  left  Taos,  to  carry  on  the  work  undertaken  by  Vidal 
the  year  before.  In  eleven  days  they  reached  the  Cayguas 
(Kiowas),  whom  they  found  disposed  to  make  peace  with  the 
Spanish  authorities,  and  through  this  tribe  they  took  measures  to 
make  peace  with  the  Comanches  also,  and  for  this  purpose  to  bring 
them  to  Santa  Fe.  In  forming  this  alliance,  Salcedo  wrote  that 
the  New  Mexican  authorities  should  insist  absolutely  upon  one 
condition — the  Indians  must  not  trade  with  the  Americans  or 
English.  Measures  should  be  taken  to  encourage  the  fur  trade  in 
the  direction  of  Santa  Pe  and  to  send  Vidal  and  Calvert  again  to 
the  Pawnees  to  learn  who  had  attacked  them  the  year  before. ^^ 
Salcedo  was  thoroughly  impressed  with  the  advisability  of  gaining 
Indian  support,  and  was  determined  to  make  each  frontier  expedi- 
tion accomplish  as  much  as  possible  in  this  direction. 

The  shifting  motives  and  the  jealousy  that  ruled  among  the 
Spanish  officials  at  New  Orleans  and  at  Chihuahua  is  illustrated 
by  the  conduct  of  Casa  Calvo  and  of  Salcedo.  Casa  Calvo,  to 
emphasize  his  function  as  boundary  commissioner,  sends  a  subor- 
dinate to  gather  data  on  the  Texas  frontier,  while  Salcedo's  under- 
lings refuse  to  admit  him  into  the  province.  Salcedo,  distrusting 
the  fidelity  of  his  native  allies,  gives  his  entire  attention  to 
gaining  and  retaining  Indian  support.  The  boundary  commis- 
sioner, anxious  for  the  success  of  his  special  mission,  grants  a 
passport  to  an  American  exploring  party,  for  he  may  thus  indi- 
rectly gain  valuable  information  for  himself.  Salcedo,  with  the 
Indian  problem  looming  up  ever  greater  on  his  provincial  horizon, 
refuses  to  honor  his  associate's  passport,  and  takes  immediate 
measures  10  thwart  the  exploration.  In  this  see-saw  of  purpose 
and  action  may  be  seen  one  of  the  minor  reasons  for  Spanish 
colonial  inefficiency     Had  it  not  been  matched  by  official  inaction 


17.  See  Chapter  XII. 

18.  Salcedo  to  Governor  of    New  Mexico,  June   16,   1806.       New 
Mexico  Archives. 

66 


at  Washington — partially  due,  it  is  true,  to  diplomatic  complica- 
tions in  Europe — Spanish  power  would  then  and  there  have  disap- 
peared from  what  is  now  our  great  South- West. 

Owing  to  the  rebuff  offered  to  Minor  the  year  before,  Casa 
Calvo  apparently  determined  that  his  next  move  toward  his  pecu- 
liar field  of  exploration  should  be  a  personal  one.  Accordingly, 
in  October,  1805,  he  informed  Governor  Claiborne  that  he  expected 
to  make  an  excursion  to  the  .Sabine  for  the  purpose  of  hunting,  of 
ascertaining  the  latitude  of  the  ancient  Spanish  establishments  of 
Adaes,  and  of  making  inquiries  concerning  some  stone  posts  that 
were  supposed  to  mark  the  former  division  line  between  French 
Louisiana  and  Spanish  Texas.  Claiborne  regarded  the  explana- 
tion of  the  Marquis  very  much  as  the  latter,  a  few  weeks  before, 
had  looked  upon  his  representation  of  Dunbar's  objects — as  a 
simple  pretext  to  conceal  some  underhand  policy.  Nevertheless, 
the  Marquis  had  apparently  accepted  his  explanation  at  its  face 
value,  granted  the  passport,  and  appointed  his  representative  to 
accompany  the  Red  River  Expedition ;  so  now  Claiborne  did  not 
feel  justified  in  opposing  Casa  Calvo's  journey.  But  he  took  occa- 
sion to  ask  the  Marquis  to  permit  an  American  officer  to  join  him 
on  the  frontier  of  Texas,  and  the  latter  readily  agreed. ^^ 

On  October  15,  Casa  Calvo  left  New  Orleans,  having  pre- 
viously promised,  immediately  upon  his  arrival  at  Adaes,  to  notify 
Captain  Edward  Turner,  the  American  officer  selected  to  accom- 
pany him.  To  this  officer  Claiborne  issued  the  necessary  instruc- 
tions for  ascertaining  the  geographical  position  of  Adaes,  and  its 
former  relation  to  the  neighboring  French,  and  for  examining  the 
supposed  locality  of  the  stone  posts  and  their  importance.  He 
was  to  inquire  if  a  line  of  demarcation,  completely  or  in  part,  had 
ever  been  established  between  the  French  and  the  Spanish,  and  if 
any  French  settlements  were  formerly  located  upon  the  Red  River 
beyond  the  places  then  held  by' the  Americans.^^  These  instruc- 
tions were  comprehensive  enough,  but  Turner  never  had  the  op- 
portunity to  use  them.  The  wily  Marquis  had  no  idea  of  allowing 
unwelcome  members  to  join  his  party. 


19.  Claiborne  to  Madison,  Oct.  14,  1805.     Claibortie  Correspondence, 
III;  Id.  to  Id.  Jan.  7,  1806.     Claib.  Correspondence,  IV. 

20.  Claiborne  to  Turner,  Oct.  14, 1805.    Claiborne  Correspondence,  III. 

67 


A  comparatively  simple  motive  probably  dictated  the  policy  of 
Casa  Calvo  in  making  this  journey.  His  reason  for  being  in  New 
Orleans  was  to  act  as  boundary  commissioner,  and  for  this  pur- 
pose he  was  drawing,  for  the  second  year,  a  comfortable  allow- 
ance from  the  Spanish  exchequer.  Doubtless  it  occurred  to  him 
that  it  would  be  necessary  to  make  some  such  excursion,  in  order 
to  show  his  home  government,  as  well  as  the  United  States  offi- 
cials, the  necessity  for  his  continued  existence  at  New  Orleans. 
Incidentally,  he  may  have  purposed  to  enter  into  some  relation 
with  the  Indian  tribes  on  the  frontier,  and  to  turn  to  the  advantage 
of  his  royal  master  the  discontent  whicli  was  understood  to  exist 
among  the  Creoles  of  the  terrHory.  If  possible,  he  wished  to  form 
a  settlement  of  these  people  on  the  Trinity  River  in  Texas.^^ 

With  regard  to  his  main  purpose,  we  find  that  Casa  Calvo  took 
especial  pains  to  inform  the  other  Spanish  officials,  including  Casa 
Yrujo  at  Philadelphia.  On  the  8th  of  December  he  notified  Gov- 
ernor Cordero,  of  Texas,*-  that  he  was  beyond  the  Neches  River 
for  the  purpose  of  making  observations  regarding  the  boundary 
line,  and  that  he  should  in  the  course  of  his  journey  visit  Orco- 
quisac,  Nacogdoches,  Adaes,  and  Natchitoches,  and  he  requested 
a  hundred  animals  for  the  transportation  of  his  party  and  provi- 
sions. The  governor  sent  this  request  to  the  Captain-General, 
Salcedo,  who  ordered  him  to  be  reasonably  supplied  within  the 
limJts  of  the  royal  treasury.  Later  in  the  month  Salcedo  wrote 
Cordero,^''  ordering  him  as  above  to  furnish  a  reasonable  supply 
of  horses  to  the  Marquis,  while  the  latter  was  engaged  in  his 
boundary  survey ;  but  he  must  not  permit  too  many  to  be  taken 
from  Texas  into  Louisiana.  From  these  letters  it  would  seem 
that  the  Texas  authorities  fully  believed  Casa  Calvo  to  be  engaged 
in  some  important  undertaking  concerning  the  boundary,  or  at  any 
rate  that  they  did  not  dare  to  refuse  his  personal  request. 


21.  See  Claiborne  Correspondence,  IV,  Claiborne  to  Madison,  Jan.  7, 
1806,  in  which  the  former  reports  the  failure  of  this  plan  on  account  of 
dissatisfaction  with  the  lands  in  question.  He  also  reports  that  meas- 
ures were  taken  by  Casa  Calvo  to  establish  his  colony,  and  as  the  bound- 
ary was  still  unsettled,  this  was  an  unfriendly  act  and  the  President 
should  take  immediate  steps  to  break  up  this  settlement. 

22.  Casa  Calvo  to  Cordero,  Dec.  8,  1805.     Bexar  Archives. 

23.  Salcedo  to  Cordero,  Jan.  7,  28,  1806.     Bexar  Archives. 

68 


Meanwhile  rumors  were  current  at  New  Orleans  concerning 
very  different  purposes  of  the  Marquis.  He  was  believed  to  have 
taken  with  him  a  considerable  sum  of  money  for  the  conciliation  of 
the  Indians  or  for  the  payment  of  troops  that  were  to  meet  him  on 
the  frontiers  of  Texas.  The  report  of  the  discontent  among  the 
Creoles  of  the  frontier  and  the  arrival  of  additional  Spanish  troops 
at  Nacogdoches^'*  did  not  tend  to  remove  these  fears.  Claiborne 
at  first  seemed  to  believe  that  he  had  no  object  hostile  to  the  United 
States,  but  later  that  his  taking  many  goods  for  the  Indian  trade 
had  a  probable  national  significance.  The  secretary  of  the  terri- 
tory, Graham,  who  was  acting  as  governor  during  Claiborne's 
absence  in  Attakapas.  voiced  the  prevalent  fears  and  distrust  in  a 
letter  to  Madison,  January  2,  1806.  He  stated  that  the  Marquis 
was  tampering  with  the  Indians,  and  that  he  had  not  yet  gone 
where  he  said,  although  he  had  been  longer  absent  than  they  had 
been  led  to  believe  would  be  the  case.  While  Graham  did  not 
wish  to  raise  any  improper  suspicions  against  Casa  Calvo,  yet  he 
believed  that  he  and  the  other  Spaniards  lingering  in  the  province 
were  its  most  dangerous  enemies,  and  should  be  gotten  rid  of  as 
soon  as  possible.  Three  days  later  Claiborne  returned,  and  on 
January  7  informed  Madison  that  he  was  pleased  to  know  of  the 
President's  determination  to  urge  the  Spanish  officers  to  a  final 
departure,  and  that  he  would  endeavor  to  carry  it  out  without  dis- 
cussion. The  continued  absence  of  Casa  Calvo  rendered  his 
v.diereabouts  uncertain;  but  he  should  endeavor  to  ascertain  this, 
and  by  special  messenger  dispatch  the  order  for  his  departure,  to 
prevent  his  return  through  the  city,  where  his  enforced  leaving 
might  excite  a  commotion  among  Jiis  adherents.  Two  days  later 
he  reported  an  additional  reason  for  hastening  the  departure  of 
the  Marquis,  in  the  fact  that  while  the  latter  was  in  La  Fourche 
County  he  circulated  the  report  that  all  the  territory  would  soon 
revert  to  Spain,  and  thus  unsettled  the  minds  of  the  Creoles  in  that 
region.^*'' 

On  January  17  Claiborne  sent  to  Captain  George  T.  Ross,  of 
the  New  Orleans  V^olunteers,  m  search  of  Casa  Calvo,  to  inform 
him  of  his  dismissal  from  the  province  by  order  of  the  President 


24.  Claiborne  Correspondence,  III,  Nov.  11,  1805. 

25.  Claiborne  Correspondence,  IV. 


69 


of  the  United  States,  as  a  measure  of  precaution  following  the 
failure  to  adjust  existing  differences,  and  in  view  of  recent  hostile 
preparations  along  the  Louisiana  frontiers.  In  addition,  Clai- 
borne instructed  Major  Porter,  in  command  of  the  United  States 
troops  at  Natchitoches,  to  prevent,  if  necessary,  by  force,  the 
return  of  Casa  Calvo  through  his  jurisdiction.^^  Claiborne  seemed 
fully  determined  to  get  rid  of  his  unwelcome  guest. 

Meanwhile,  from  the  Spanish  officers  came  reports  of  Casa 
Calvo's  expedition  and  its  objects.  Through  Felix  Trudeaux,  the 
spy  residing  in  Natchitoches,  Sebastian  Rodriguez,  the  Spanish 
commandant  of  Nacogdoches,  learned  that  the  Americans  were 
closely  watching  Casa  Calvo,  then  along  the  Orcoquisac  (Trin- 
ity).^'^  On  January  i8  Casa  Calvo,  in  company  with  Rodriguez, 
left  Nacogdoches  for  Natchitoches.^^  If  we  may  credit  the  latter, 
it  was  durmg  this  period  that  Casa  Calvo  took  occasion  to  suggest 
an  immediate  uprising  of  the  inhabitants  of  Louisiana  against  the 
Americans,  with  the  co-operation  of  the  Spanish  forces  from 
Texas ;  and  the  Marquis  seemed  to  have  made  a  hearty  convert  of 
the  Captain.^^  It  will  not  do  to  lay  too  much  stress  upon  this 
warlike  attitude  of  all  Spanish  frontier  officials,  for  we  find  that 
Rodriguez's  advocacy  of  the  plan  and  his  accompanving  of  Casa 
Calvo  to  Natchitoches,  led  to  his  suspension  from  command  for  a 
year.^^  In  general,  the  Spanish  authorities  were  loath  to  assume 
an  aggressively  hostile  attitude  toward  the  United  States.  Of 
course,  jealousy  of  Casa  Calvo,  in  a  measure,  may  have  dictated 
this  policy  toward  Rodriguez. 

As  late  as  April  9  we  find  an  order  sent  to  Viana,  then  in  com- 
mand at  Nacogdoches,  to  permit  Casa  Calvo  to  take  none  of  the 
horses  furnished  him  into  Louisiana,  for  the  news  had  arrived 
that  his  functions  as  boundary  commissioner  had  been  sus- 
pended.^^ However,  Casa  Calvo  had  already  left  Nacogdoches : 
and  in  some  way  missing  Captain  Ross  and  failing  to  be  detained 


26.  Claiborne  Correspondence,  IV. 

27.  Rodrig-uez  to  Cordero,  December  ]9,  1805.     Bexar  Archives. 

28.  Viana  to  Cordero,  January  18,  1806.     Bexar  Archives. 

29.  Rodriguez  to  Cordero,  March  4,  1806.     Bexar  Archives. 

30.  See  Pike:  Journal,  etc.,  241,  where  he  mentions  meeting-  him  in 
Chihuahua,  in  April,  1807. 

31.  Calderon  to  Viana,  April  19,  1806.     Bexar  Archives. 

70 


by  Major  Porter,^^  he  passed  through  Natchitoches  and  arrived  in 
New  Orleans  on  the  night  of  February  4,  1806.^^  Two  days  later 
Claiborne  informed  him  of  the  desire  of  the  President  to  have  him 
leave  at  once,  and  despite  the  indignant  protests  of  the  Marquis, 
followed  a  firm  but  urbane  correspondence  by  transmitting  a  pass- 
port on  the  1 2th.  and  this  final  hint  necessitated  the  departure  of 
the  Marquis  on  the  15th. 

Casa  Calvo's  desire  to  justify  his  expedition  led  him  to  send  to 
Casa  Yrujo  a  sketch  of  the  important  results  of  his  visits  to  the 
Sabine  and  vicinity.  The  Spanish  minister  himself  was  then  a 
persona  non  grata  to  the  American  government,  and  doubtless 
sympathized  with  his  companion  in  distress.  His  summary  of 
Casa  Calvo's  communication  to  himself  was  intercepted  and,  now 
reposing  in  the  State  Department,  its  language  probably  forms  the 
best  explanation  of  Casa  Calvo's  motive  for  exploring  the  Louis- 
iana-Texas frontier  i^** 

"Althoug-h  I  suppose  the  Marquis  Casa  Calvo  has  informed  your 
Excellency  of  the  results  of  his  examination,  lately  made  on  the 
frontiers  of  Texas,  yet  as  his  despatches  may  have  been  miscarried,  it 
appears  to  me  proper  to  repeat  to  your  Excellency  the  very  important 
information  which  he  has  communicated  to  me  from  Pensacola,  before 
his  departure  for  Havana.  It  is  that  from  documents  which  he  has  seen 
in  the  Mission  of  San  Miguel  de  los  Adayes,  and  from  the  book  of  the 
register  of  births,  marriages,  etc.,  it  results  that  Spain  has  been  in  the 
uninterrupted  possession  of  that  territory  for  more  than  eighty-five 
years,  and  that  the  dividing  line  between  old  I^ouisiana  and  the  Province 
of  Texas  has  always  been  in  the  Arroyo  Hondo.  This  is  two  and  a  half 
leagues  to  the  west  of  Natchitoches.  These  documents  prove  the  pre- 
tensions of  the  American  Government  to  be  unfounded  and  will  show 
that  in  these  pretensions,  it  has  looked  only  to  its  proper  convenience 
and  in  no  degree  to  justice,  as  a  Government  which  boast  so  much  of  its 
virtue  ought  to  have  done." 

The  letter  strongly  confirms  Casa  Calvo's  statement  of  his  pur- 
pose to  Claiborne.  It  contains  little  to  justify  the  latter's  suspi- 
cions of  inciting  insurrection  or  the  jealous  fears  of  the  Spanish 
officials  that  the  Marquis  sought  to  embroil  the  frontier  garrisons 


32.  A  report  from  a  Lieutenant  Burke  of  Mississippi,  published  in 
the  Baltimore  Telcgraphe  and  Daily  Advertiser,  March  22,  1806,  says 
that  Porter  ordered  both  Casa  Calvo  and  Rodriguez  out  of  the  province. 

33.  Gayarr^,  History  of  Louisiana,  IV,  131,  132. 

34.  Casa  Yrujo  to  Cevallos,  June  30,  1806.  Spanish  Notes  /,  Bureau 
of  Indexes  and  Archives. 

71 


in  hostilities  with  the  Americans.  Yet  testimony  against  the 
Marquis  is  strong  upon  both  of  these  points,  and  he  may  have 
desired,  in  the  event  of  losing  his  position  as  boundary  commis- 
i  ioner,  to  play  a  more  important  role  in  a  border  struggle  which 
he  himself  had  precipitated.  Apparently  he  believed  such  a 
struggle  inevitable,  and  he  knew  that  his  former  rule  had  endeared 
him  to  the  Creoles.  By  forcing  the  issue  he  would  thus  more 
surely  attain  future  prominence. 

We  have  already  mentioned  that  Salcedo  suggested  a  small 
expedition  to  the  Pawnees  in  the  spring  of  1806.  The  threatened 
irruption  of  American  traders  and  explorers  caused  the  Captain- 
General  to  expand  greatly  his  original  plan.  He  must  not  only 
make  peace  with  the  Indians,  but  he  must  also  make  upon  their 
minds  a  lasting  impression  that  would  efface  any  former  contempt 
felt  for  the  Spaniards,  and  overshadow  any  counter-demonstration 
of  the  Americans.  In  addition  the  expedition  was  to  stop  all  ex- 
ploring parties,  or  unauthorized  traders  and  settlers,  and  to  cause 
them  to  retire  within  the  acknowledged  limits  of  the  United  States. 
To  accomplish  this  important  double  object  he  needed  a  more 
imposing  force  than  the  modest  one  that  had  accompanied  Vidal 
ci  Lucero,  and  when  his  expedition  did  finally  leave,  it  was  one  of 
llie  most  important  ever  sent  out  from  New  Mexico. 

About  the  middle  of  June,  1806,  the  expedition,  consisting  of 
one  hundred  regular  troops  from  the  province  of  New  Biscay  and 
five  hundred  New  Mexico  miHtia,  under  the  command  of  Lieu- 
tenant Don  Facundo  Malgares,  set  out  from  Santa  Fe  for  the 
Pawnee  country.  The  commander  of  the  expedition  bore  a  triple 
commission.  In  the  first  place,  despite  the  previous  claim  of  Sal- 
cedo that  the  Spanish  authorities  were  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  territory  as  far  as  the  Missouri,  Malgares  was  directed  thor- 
oughly to  explore  this.  A  second  and  more  direct  commission  was 
to  intercept  Freeman's  party,  if  it  should  escape  the  force  of 
Viana,  sent  from  Nacogdoches  to  intercept  it  ;^^  and  to  do  the 
same  with  Lieutenant  Pike's  party,  of  which  information  had  just 
reached  Salcedo.  Finally,  and  doubtless  most  important  from 
Salcedo's  point  of  view,  he  was  to  visit  the  Comanches,  Pawnees, 
and  the  Kansas,  impress  them  with  the  strength  of  the  Spanish 


35.     See  pa<^e  85. 

72 


arms,  and  make  firm  and  lasting  peace  with  them.*"^'  With  his 
mounted  force  and  extra  animals,  forming-  an  imposing  cavalcade 
of  some  2,000  beasts,  with  provisions  for  six  months,  and  with  an 
intelligent  and  decisive  commander  of  great  wealth,  liberality  and 
experience,  the  expedition  was  well  calculated  to  impress  the  untu- 
tored minds  of  the  natives  and  forestall  American  intervention. 
The  material  contrast  between  this  force  of  the  expiring  vice  roy- 
alty and  tlie  modest  American  parties  that  were  moving  ud  the 
western  rivers  is  suggestive  of  much  that  is  typical  of  the  two 
peoples. 

Leaving  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande  they  descended  the  Red 
River  (i.  e.,  the  Canadian),  for  a  distance  of  233  leagues,  and  on 
their  way  met  and  held  conferences  with  important  bands  of  the 
Commanches.  The  principal  meeting  with  the  savages  must  have 
been  an  impressive  one.  With  500  men,  all  mounted  on  white 
horses,  and  himself  and  two  principal  officers  on  jet  black  ones, 
Malgares  and  his  troop  were  received  by  1,500  of  the  Commanches, 
dressed  in  their  gayest  robes.  Such  a  spectacle  was  calculated  to 
impress  the  natives  more  than  the  apparently  idle  tales  of  Lewis  or 
Pike  about  a  great  father  at  Washington,  whose  only  representa- 
tives were  a  handful  of  nondescript  frontiersmen  and  soldiers. 
Those  of  us  who  look  back  over  a  century  of  history  can  readily 
perceive  the  hollow  mockery  of  the  Spanish  display,  but  the 
Comanches  of  the  western  plains  could  not  then  interpret  its 
meaning. 

After  making  a  favorable  impression  upon  the  Comanches  ruid 
sternly  repressing  an  incipient  mutiny  among  the  New  Mexico 
militia,  Malgares  struck  across  the  country  to  the  Arkansas.  A 
wandering  party  of  Pawnee-Mahas  relieved  him  of  part  of  his 
live  stock,  and  he  had  to  leave  some  240  of  his  men  with  the  lame 
horses,  while  with  the  remainder  he  pressed  on  to  the  country  of 
the  Pawnees.  Here  he  held  council  with  two  of  the  tribes,  and 
presented  them  with  medals  and  flags.  The  Pawnees  later  told 
Pike  that  the  Spanish  leader  said  he  was  not  empowered  to  make 
final  treaties  with  them,  but  that  in  the  following  spring  his  supe- 

36.  For  the  details  of  the  Malgares  Expedition  see  Pike,  Account  of 
an  Expedition,  etc.,  142,  143,  144,  note.  (1810  Edition);  and  Coites 
(Edition  1895)  410-414,  536,  537,  543,  583,  754. 

73 


nor  would  come  for  that  purpose  with  a  large  force.  Owing  to 
the  condition  of  his  horses  and  the  discontent  of  his  men,  Malgares 
did  not  press  on  to  the  other  Pawnees  or  to  the  Kansas.  Possibly, 
as  Pike  suggests,  his  men,  now  upon  the  scene  of  the  massacre  of 
Villazur's  force  in  1720/'^'''  could  with  difficulty  be  restrained  from 
wreaking  vengeance  upon  the  descendants  of  the  guilty  Pawnees 
and  thus  defeating  Salcedo's  scheme  for  winning  the  support  of 
these  Indians.  Evidently  Malgares  made  some  impression  upon 
them,  and  promised  to  return  and  erect  a  town  ;  but  this  impression 
was  not  lasting  enough  to  lead  them  to  obey  his  definite  instruc- 
tions to  turn  back  Pike's  party,  if  he  should  come  thither,  as  he 
did  a  few  weeks  later. 

After  taking  into  custody  a  few  American  traders  found 
among  these  Indians,  Malgares  retraced  his  route  to  Santa  Fe, 
where  he  arrived  the  early  part  of  October,  and  was  obliged  to 
remain,  because  his  horses  were  used  up.  His  diario  was  duly  for- 
/warded  to  Salcedo,^^  but  it  is  doubtful  if  the  partly  executed  task 
\/  gave  that  chief  any  satisfaction.  Thus  ended  the  final  important 
effort  of  a  divided  and  decaying  power  to  stem  the  tide  of  Ameri- 
can expansion  by  means  of  Indian  allies.  Mutual  jealousies,  un- 
certain purposes,  and  inadequate  resources  wastefully  expended — 
such  form  the  final  chapter  of  Spanish  expl9ration  upon  the 
American  continent. 


37.  Bandelier,  A.  F.,  Papers  of  the  Archaelogical  Institute  of 
America,   V,  179-206. 

38.  Allencaster  to  Salcedo,  Oct.  8,  1806.  New  VLexico  Archives. 
Pike  afterward  found  at  Natchitoches  many  of  the  American  traders 
arrested  by  Malgares  (Coues,  Pike,  II,  414). 


74 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  BID   FOR  THE   SUPPORT  OF  THE   RED  RIVER 

INDIANS. 

While  arranging  the  personnel  of  the  exploring  party  and  try- 
ing to  tie  the  hands  of  Spanish  frontier  officials  by  means  of  Casa 
Calvo's  passport,  President  Jefferson  and  his  advisers  were  not 
unmindful  of  the  third  factor  necessary  to  secure  the  success  of 
the  expedition — the  good  will  of  the  Indians  dwelling  along  die 
Red  River. 

Before  the  Americans  took  possession  of  Louisiana,  Sibley 
reported  the  Caddoes  as  anxiously  inquiring  about  their  coming, 
for  their  presence  meant  higher  prices  for  furs.  A  few  months 
after  they  obtained  possession,  Captain  Turner,  the  commanding 
officer  at  Natchitoches,  wrote  Governor  Claiborne^  that  he  ^t^'i 
received  a  visit  from  the  Caddo^  Indians,  who  said  that  the  Span- 
iards used  to  give  them  a  present  each  year,  and  they  wished  to 
receive  the  same  from  the  Americans.  A  few  gifts  from  Turner 
satisfied  them  temporarily,  but  the  request  opened  a  problem  of 
grave  importance  in  American  frontier  policy.  Claiborne  reoorted 
the  matter  to  Madison,^  gave  a  brief  description  of  the  tribe,  and 
said  that  he  should  invite  them  to  New  Orleans.  A  later  letter 
from  Turner  informed  Claiborne  of  the  privilege  enjoyed  by 
Murphy  and  Davenport  in  trading  with  the  Spanish  Indians.  As 
this  trade  included  the  privilege  of  supplying  them  with  ammuni- 
tion, the  Americans,  in  case  of  difficulty  with  the  Spaniards,  might 
feel  its  evil  effects.  Accordingly,  he  recommended  the  immed'ate 
establishment  of  American  factories  to  divert  the  Indians  from  the 
Spaniards. 

While  Captain  Turner  was  approaching  the  subject  of  Indian 


1.  Sibley  to  Claiborne,  Oct.  10,  1803,  Jefferso7i  Papers,  Ser.  2,  Vol. 
76,  No.  5.     Turner  to  Claiborne,  July  6,  1804,  Claiborne  Correspondence. 

2.  These  Indians  were  the  Caddadachos  of  the  Spaniards  and  the 
Cadadoquis  of  the  French. 

3.  Turner  to  Claiborne,  Aug-.  30,  1804,  Claiborne  Corresponde^ice . 

75 


relations  through  Governor  Claiborne,  Dr.  Sibley  was  making 
similar  representations  directly  to  the  President,  and  was  likewise 
giving  a  political  bias  to  his  communications.  In  his  letter  of 
September  2,  1804,^^  he  insinuated  that,  with  but  few  exceptions, 
all  of  the  civil  and  military  officers  of  the  United  States  in  the  new 
territory  were  not  attached  to  the  administration ;  and  their  openly 
expressed  opposition  had  a  bad  effect  upon  its  inhabitants.  He 
especially  charged  "a  deranged  officer  at  this  post  said  to  enjoy 
the  favor  of  the  commanding  officer"  (Captain  Turner)  as  guilty 
of  this  practice,  as  well  as  that  of  supplying  necessities  to  the  gar- 
rison at  exorbitant  prices. 

With  reference  to  the  Indian  trading  company  of  Murphy  and 
Davenport,  all  of  the  members  of  which  had  once  been  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  or  were  still,  he  stated  that  they  carried  on  their 
operations  through  a  Spanish  officer  at  Nacogdoches,  Texas. 
Naturally  this  company  and  the  Spanish  officer  did  all  in  their 
power  to  excite  the  Indians  against  the  United  States.  If  the 
trade  couid  be  turned  into  the  proper  channel,  and  be  supplied 
from  an  American  post  on  the  Red  River,  the  Indians,  and  espe- 
cially the  Pawnees  and  Comanches,  might  become  fast  friends  of 
the  Americans. 

The  necessity  of  some  action  of  this  sort  was  emphasized  by 
later  reports^  that  the  Aish  Indians  of  Texas,  instigated  by  the 
Spaniards,  were  trying  to  persuade  the  Casados,  a  small  tribe  on 
the  Sabine,  to  move  over  the  river,  and  were  threatening  to  exter- 
minate them,  if  they  did  not.  An  American  settler  near  the  head 
of  the  same  river  was  warned  by  the  Cousate^  to  move  from  that 
locality,  as  the  Spaniards  were  stirring  up  all  the  border  Indians 
to  hostilities.  In  view  of  these  acts,  it  became  increasingly  im- 
portant to  attach  the  Caddoes  to  the  American  side.  Claiborne 
made  a  vigorous  representation  to  Casa  Calvo,  and  the  latter 
promised  to  report  the  facts  to  the  Spanish  commanders,  although 
he  was  persuaded  that  they  were  merely  exaggerated  rumors  of 
interested  traders.     Claiborne  bade  Turner  use  all  possible  means 


3a.  Jefferson  Papers,  Series  2,  Vol.  76,  No.  7. 

4.  Turner  to  Claiborne,  Sept.  9  and  Oct.  13,  1804.     Claiborne  Corre- 
spondence, II. 

5.  The   Aish   were   the   same   as   the   Aes   and   the   Cousate,    the 
Cushatta  or  Koasati. 

76 


to  conciliate  the  Indians  and  to  give  small  trifles  to  those  who  were 
honest  and  well  disposed:  but  he  could  not  confer  authority  to 
make  greater  presents.  Still,  Turner  might  regale  the  Caddoes 
to  the  extent  of  $200.  Later  an  attempt  of  the  Spaniards  to  sum- 
mon a  general  Indian  council  failed,  because  of  mutual  disagree- 
ment and  feeling  of  contempt  which  these  Indians  seemed  to  feel 
toward  their  former  masters.^ 

Following  Claiborne's  representations,  and  Sibley's  political 
■finesse,  and  as  a  sequence  to  the  creation  of  Orleans  territory,  in 
December,  1804,  Secretary  Dearborn  forwarded  to  the  Doctor'^  a 
request  to  act  occasionally  as  agent  for  the  United  States  in  hold- 
ing conferences  with  the  various  Indians  of  his  vicinity.  He  was 
to  attempt  to  keep  them  well  disposed  toward  the  American  gov- 
ernment by  a  judicious  distribution  of  some  $3,000  worth  of  mer- 
chandise. 

The  first  effect  of  these  changes  seems  to  have  been  to  unsettle 
Indian  affairs,  tor  Claiborne's  new  instructions  did  not  permit  him 
to  interfere,  while  the  functions  of  the  new  agent  were  greatly 
circumscribed.  Traders  passed  to  the  Indian  tribes  with  very 
little  restraint,  except  from  the  frontier  commandants,  who  at- 
tempted to  keep  the  trade  simply  one  in  peltries  with  the  Indians, 
and  not  a  concealed  horse  trade  with  the  Spaniards.  Then,  too, 
there  was  some  question  in  Louisiana  regarding  Dr.  Sibley's 
fitness  for  his  position,  but  this  was  apparently  explained  away  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  Washington  authorities.  Early  in  the  fol- 
lowing spring  Sibley  produced  the  first  result  of  his  appointment 
in  the  form  of  a  report  upon  the  Indian  tribes  of  his  vast  district. 
In  his  commendation  of  this  report  Claiborne  again  counseled  him 
to  pay  particular  attention  to  the  Caddoes,  who  seemed  to  have 
influence  over  the  others  and  were  well  disposed  toward  the 
Americans.^ 

On  the  23rd  of  the  following  May,  Dearborn  expressed  his 
gratification  at  the  receipt  of  this  report,^  and. added: 


6.  Claiborne  Correspondence y  II,  Oct.  3,  Nov.  3,  7  and  21,  1804. 

7.  Dearborn  to  Sibley,  Indian  Office,  Letter  Book  B,  30,  Bureau  of 
Indian  Affairs. 

8.  Claiborne  Correspondence,  III,  Jan.  27  and  29,  March  25,  and 
June  10,  1805. 

9.  Indian  Office,  Letter  Book  B,  80.    For  Sibley's  report  see  Annals, 
9  Cong-.  2,  1078  ff. 


"At  all  times  use  all  means  to  conciliate  the  Indians  g-enerally,  and 
more  especially  such  natives  as  might,  in  case  of  a  rupture  with  Spain, 
be  useful  or  mischievous  to  us.  (  None  ought  to  engage  your  attention  so 
early  as  those  who  reside  i?t  the  itntnediate  vicinity  of  the  Bay  of  St. 
Bernards  and  from  your  description  of  their  present  temper  and  dispo- 
sition, it  will  require  no  great  exertion  to  draw  them  firmly  to  the  inter- 
ests of  the  United  States.  They  may  be  assured  that  they  and  all  other 
red  people  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States^^  will  be  treated  with 
undeviating  friendship  as  long  as  they  shall  conduct  themselves  fairly 
and  with  good  faith  towards  the  Government  and  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States." 

This  letter,  significant  for  its  territorial  claims  as  well  as  for 
the  Indian  policy  outlined,  closed  with  the  suggestion  that  Sibley 
prepare  the  minds  of  those  Indians  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Red 
River,  Attakapas,  and  Opelousas,  for  a  proposed  land  survey  by 
the  United  States  government.  If  it  should  be  necessary  to  run 
lines  through  their  lands,  in  order  to  make  the  survey  complete, 
they  were  not  to  be  alarmed.  "Not  an  acre  will  be  taken,"  the 
Secretary  affirmed,  "except  with  payment  and  treaty  under  the 
auspices  of  the  United  States  and  'free  concession  on  their  part." 
At  the  same  time  Jefferson  wrote  to  Claiborne  that  "their  rights 
and  comfort  would  be  sacredly  cherished. "^^•^ 

Not  merely  in  the  far  Southwest,  but  also  at  St,  Louis,  the 
American  officials  devoted  themselves  to  the  policy  of  winning  the 
native  inhabitants  of  their  new  possessions.  Dearborn  impressed 
upon  General  Wilkinson,^ ^  as  he  had  done  upon  Sibley,  the  impor- 
tance of  gaining  the  friendship  and  esteem  of  the  Indians  and  of 
preserving  harmony  between  them  and  the  settlers  and  the  sol- 
diers. From  St.  Louis  this  implied  a  double  task,  not  merely  to 
win  them  from  Spanish  allegiance,  but  also  to  undermine  the  hold 
of  the  British  traders  of  the  north.  In  this  latter  and  far  more 
difficult  task  Lewis  and  Clark  were  doing  royal  service,  in  the 
winter  of  1804-05,  along  the  headwaters  of  the  Missouri  ;^2  ^nd  in 
the  following  winter  Lieutenant  Pike  won  his  first  reputation  in  a 


10.  The  italics  in  this  extract  are  those  of  the  author.  In  a  letter 
of  Oct.  17,  1805,  giving  Sibley  a  commission  as  permanent  agent.  Dear- 
born hopes  that  Sibley  has  made  a  "proper  impression"  upon  the 
Indians  near  St.  Bernard's  Bay  {Indian  Office,  Letter  Book  B,  2). 

10a.  Jefferson  Papers,  Series  1,  Vol.  10,  No.  300. 

11.  Wilkinson  Papers,  II,  April  19,  1805. 

12.  See  Chapter  III. 

78 


like  service  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Mississippi.^^  By  May, 
1806,  Wilkinson  reported'*  the  Sioux,  Pawnees,  Kickapoos,  and 
others  as  ready  to  enter  into  commercial  relations  with  American 
traders,  and  to  strengthen  this  impression  he  selected  his  proteg-e 
Pike  for  a  second  and  more  arduous  expedition,  leading  him"  far 
within  the  Spanish  sphere  of  influence. ^^ 

In  the  report  mentioned  above,  Sibley  estimated  the  fighting 
strength  of  some  thirty  tribes  between  the  Arkansas  and  Rio 
Grande  (not  including  the  Comanches)  at  2,800  warriors.  The 
number  and  strength  of  the  Indians  surprised  the  President,^*^ 
and  doubly  impressed  him  with  the  intelligence  and  industry  of 
Sibley  as  an  officer  and  the  importance  of  retaining  the  friendship 
of  these  natives.  Accordingly,  October  17,  1805,  Sibley  was  made 
a  regular  agent,  furnished  with  the  customary  goods  for  trading, 
and  urged  to  induce  some  of  the  principal  chjefs,  especially  of  the 
Caddoes,  to  visit  Washington,  or  at  least  New  Orleans.^''' 

From  the  other  side  of  the  border,  Salcedo  had  already  issued 
instructions^^  to  prevent  the  removal  of  Indians  from  Texas  into 
Louisiana,  and  by  every  means  possible  to  keep  them  faithful  to 
Spanish  allegiance.  During  the  following  year  from  each  group 
of  frontier  officials  came  recriminations^^  against  the  unfair  deal- 
ings of  the  other  with  the  Indians,  and  of  unauthorized  incursions 
within  the  disputed  territory.  On  the  whole,  the  advantage  in  the 
contest  for  savage  allies  seemed  to  rest  with  the  Americans;  for, 
on  the  i6th  of  July,  1805,  Salcedo  wrote  Iturrigaray^^  that  he 
should  need  at  least  1 50  extra  men  to  cope  with  the  Indian  machi- 
nations of  the  "revolutionist.  Dr.  Sikbley,"  and  in  addition,  he 
suggested   that   Casa    Calvo   should   request   the   United    States 


13.  See  Chapter  X. 

14.  Wilkinson  Papers,  II,  May  27,  1806. 

15.  See  Chapter  XI. 

16.  Washington  (Ed.),  Writings  of  Jefferson,  IV,  580-81;  Jefferson 
Papers,  Series  1,  Vol.  10,  No.  300. 

17.  Indian  Office,  Letter  Book  B,  122. 

18.  Salcedo  to  Governor  of  Texas,  July  7,  Autr.  — ,  1804.  Bexar 
Archives. 

19.  ^^^  American  State  Papers,  Foreign  /delations,  11, 690,  691;  Sal- 
cedo to  Iturrigaray,  Aug.  20, 1805;  Dionisio  Valle  to  Cordero,  Oct.  3, 1805. 
Bexar  Archives. 

20.  Salcedo  to  Iturrigaray,  July  16,  1805.     Bexar  Archives. 

79 


authorities  to  cease  such  proceedings.  In  later  letters  to  the  gov- 
ernor of  Texas^^  urging  that  official  to  redouble  his  efforts  to 
retain  the  friendship  of  the  Indians,  and  outlining  a  policy  of 
Indian  trade  on  the  Trinity,  he  gave  vent  to  a  most  bitter  tirade 
against  the  Indian  policy  of  the  new  government  of  Louisiana 
Territory.  "Only  a  declaration  of  war,"  he  savagely  concluded, 
"will  reveal  the  perfidy  of  its  emissaries  among  the  Indians."  If 
his  anger  and  alarm  were  so  strongly  aroused  by  the  course  of 
affairs  on  the  outskirts  of  his  command,  it  is  no  wonder  that  he 
unhesitatingly  refused  to  sanction  an  incursion  far  within  what  he 
regarded  as  the  undoubted  possessions  of  the  Spanish  king.  Could 
he  have  known  the  exact  tenor  of  Jefferson's  instructions  to  Sibley 
and  Dunbar,  regarding  their  relations  with  the  Indians,  he  would 
have  been  still  more  firmly  convinced,  upon  that  ground  alone,  of 
the  rightfulness  of  hi^  refusal  to  countenance  the  Red  River  expe- 
dition. 

Meanwhile  events  in  Louisiana  were  so  shaping  themselves  as 
to  nullify  the  moderate  amount  of  protection  afforded  by  Casa 
Calvo's  passport.  The  action  of  Governor  Claiborne  in  compel- 
ing  the  Marquis  and  his  suite  to  withdraw  from  New  Orleans-- 
rendered  that  document  useless.  The  Americans  must  now  pro- 
tect their  exploration  themselves,  or  else  abandon  it  upon  the  first 
opposition.  Dunbar  had  mentioned  the  probability j^"^  if  Casa 
Calvo  should  refuse  the  passport,  that  the  expedition  would  be 
stopped  a  little  above  Natchitoches,  at  Bayou  Pierre,  a  small  post 
still  in  Spanish  possession,  although  to  the  eastward  of  the 
Sabine.  Upon  suggestion  from  the  President,  Secretary  Dear- 
born issued  orders  to  the  American  patrol  in  the  vicinity  of  Bayou 
Pierre  to  protect  the  expedition  beyond  that  settlement.^^  For 
the  remainder  of  its  journey  it  must  rely  upon  Spanish  tolerance — 
an  uncertain  factor  in  view  of  the  resentment  felt  at  Casa  Calvo's 
expulsion. 

This  resentment  was  still  further  increased  by  an  event  hap- 
pening simultaneously  on  the  Sabine  frontier.     During  the  pre- 


21.  Salcedo  to  Cordero,  Oct.  8  and  22,  1805.     Bexar  Archives. 

22.  See  Chapter  VII. 

23.  Jefferson  Papers,  Series  2,  Vol.  28,  No.  69. 

24.  Jefferson  Papers,  Series  1,  Vol.  11,  No.  95. 

80 


ceding  autumn  small  Spanish  detachments  had  been  thrown  to  the 
eastward  of  that  river,  and  one  of  these  had  penetrated  as  far  as 
the  ancient  Spanish  post  of  A.daes,  abandoned  some  thirty  years 
before.^^  After  attempting  to  get  some  assurance  from  the  Span- 
ish commandant  at  Nacogdoches  that  these  forces  would  be  with- 
drawn and  no  farther  raids  permitted,  Major  Porter,  commanding 
at  Natchitoches,  ordered  Captain  Turner,  on  the  ist  of  February, 
to  advance  with  sixty  men  to  the  vicinity  of  Adaes,  where  he 
would  probably  fall  in  with  a  "stationary  body  of  armed  Span- 
iards." lliis  force  he  was  to  compel,  if  possible  without  blood- 
shed, to  retreat  beyond  the  Sabine.  Turner  fell  in  with  a  detach- 
ment of  some  twenty  men  under  Ensign  Joseph  Maria  Gonzales, 
who,  after  some  altercation,  agreed  to  take  up  his  march  for  the 
Sabine  and  to  send  no  more  patrols  on  the  east  side  of  the  river.^" 
Such  a  direct  insult  to  the  Spanish  arms,  coupled  with  the  lack 
of  consideration  shown  to  His  Majesty's  commissioner  and  other 
officials,  added  to  the  jealous  fears  of  the  Spanish  Captain-General 
the  requisite  desire  for  revenge.  This  combination  of  motives 
boded  ill  for  any  expedition  venturing  near  the  uncertain  limits  of 
the  Internal  Provinces,  upon  the  double  mission  of  frontier  explo- 
ration and  Indian  negotiation.  Salcedo  furthermore  took  the 
precaution  to  order  a  second  force  from  New  Mexico,  to  intercept 
Freeman's  party,  in  case  the  latter  escaped  that  detailed  by  the 
governor  of  Texas.^"^ 


25.  Gonzales  to  Rodriguez,  Oct.  16,  1806.     Bexar  Archives. 

26.  American  State  Papers,  For.  ReL,  II,  798,  799. 

27.  Coues,  The  Expeditions  of  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike,  I,  412, 


81 


CHAPTER  IX. 

FREEMAN'S   RED  RIVER  EXPEDITION. 

As  yet  the  Red  River  Expedition,  planned  for  October,  1805, 
had  not  made  a  start.  In  a  letter  to  Volney,^  dated  February  11, 
1806,  Jefferson  regretted  the  unavoidable  delay ;  and  in  his  special 
message  to  Congress,^  on  the  19th,  transmitting  the  report  of 
Dunbar  and  extolling  his  services,  he  stated  that  the  exploration 
of  the  Red  River  was  but  just  commencing.  It  was  two  months 
later,  however,  before  the  expedition  so  hardly,  and  as  events 
proved,  so  vainly  planned  for,  cast  off  from  Fort  Adams  and 
swung  into  the  opposing  current  of  the  Red  River.  In  addition 
to  Mr.  Freeman,  Dr.  Custis  and  Lieutenant  Humphrey,  already 
mentioned,  the  party  consisted  of  Captain  Richard  Sparks,  tWo 
non-commissioned  subalterns,  seventeen  privates  and  a  black 
servant — a  total  of  twenty-four.  Profiting  by  the  experience  of 
the  previous  expedition,  the  party  was  borne  in  two  flat-bottomed 
barges  and  a  pirogue,  all  of  light  draft  It  was  the  intention  of 
the  explorers  to  proceed  on  the  Red  to  the  supposed  head  of  navi- 
gation among  the  Panis  (Pawnee)  Indians,  and  thence  to  take 
horses  to  the  ''top  of  the  mountains"  in  which  it  was  thought  to 
rise,  a  few  miles  from  Santa  Fe.  The  return  trip  was  to  be  made 
by  the  same  river,  using  the  same  boats:  and  thus  the  toilsome 
difficulty  of  penetrating  to  the  uncertain  head  waters  of  the 
Arkansas,  and  there  reconstructing  new  boats,  was  to  be  avoided. 
It  was  hoped  that  the  party  would  be  able  to  bring  a  complete  col- 
lection of  specimens  from  the  upper  courses  of  the  Red.  Later 
the  Arkansas  was  to  be  explored  in  the  same  way.^ 

1.  Ford,  Writings  of  Jefferson,  YITL,^¥^.  *f  |  ^ 

2.  Annals  g  Cong.,  2, 1037. 

3.  The  principal  source  used  for  the  Freeman  exploration  is,  '"'' An 
Account  of  the  Red  River  in  Louisiana,  Drawn  upfront  the  Returns  of 
Messrs.  Freeman  &  Custis  to  the  War  Office  of  the  United  States,  Who 
Explored  the  Same,  in  the  Year  1806.''  (Washing-ton,  1806?)  This 
account  is  to  be  found  in  the  Library  of  Congress,  Miscellaneous 
Pamphlets,  Vol.  861,  No.  8.  The  Library  also  contains  a  manuscript 
copy.  A  summary  of  the  exploration,  evidently  based  upon  the  above, 
is  given  in  James's  Account  of  an  Expedition  from  Pittsburg  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  etc.,  Philadelphia,  1823,  Vol.  II,  pp.  303-314. 

82 


Below  Natchitoches  the  expedition  traversed  the  region  of 
which  Dr.  Sibley  had  already  given  a  general  description,^  based 
upon  his  travels  during  1803  and  1804.  The  voyagers  upon  this 
occasion  simply  noted  the  scientific  data  afforded  by  the  peculiar- 
ities of  the  river,  together  with  some  observations  concerning  the 
white  and  Indian  settlements  upon  its  immediate  banks.  At 
Nachitoches  they  took  on  additional  stores  for  Indian  trade, 
and  received  a  reinforcement  which  brought  their  number  up  to 
thirty-seven.  Above  this  town  they  began  to  encounter  that 
peculiar  river  formation  of  logs,  brush  and  mud,  to  which  the 
name  of  "raft"  was  given. ^  On  June  7th  they  encamped  at  the 
highest  white  settlement  on  the  river,  some  forty-five  miles  above 
Natchitoches.  On  the  next  day,  while  forcing  their  way  through 
a  small  raft,  they  were  overtaken  by  an  Indian  messenger  from 
Dr.  Sibley,  who  brought  word  that  a  Spanish  force  had  left 
Nacogdoches,  in  Texas,  for  the  purpose  of  intercepting  them. 
Later  in  the  day  the  Doctor  himself  arrived^  and  held  a  consulta- 
tion with  the  leaders  of  the  party,  after  which  they  resumed  their 
journey. 

The  country  for  some  six  or  eight  miles  on  either  side  of  the 
river  was  now  intersected  with  lakes  and  bayous  forming  marshes 
and  swamps,  through  which  a  great  part  of  the  water  of  the  river 
was  dispersed.  The  mairx  channel  of  the  river  was  often  choked, 
with  rafts,  which  became  increasingly  difficult  to  remove.  On 
the  Tith  of  June  they  reached  the  "Great  Raft,"  through  which 
for  over  fifty  years  no  white  or  Indian  canoe  had  penetrated.- 
Upon  the  advice  of  their  French  guide  they  made  a  detour  of 
about  one  hundred  miles,  passing  through  bayous,  creeks,  small 
lakes,  and  swamps,  where  the  navigation  at  all  times  was  difficult 
on  account  of  shoals,  rapid  currents  and  rafts,  and  occasionally 
dangerous  from  the  falling  of  decayed  timber.  The  Indian  or 
French  guides  were  equally  useless  for  discovering  the  best  way, 
and  as  a  result  fourteen  days  of  valuable  time  passed  before  the 
explorers  again  floated  upon  the  undivided  channel  of  the  Red, 
some  two  hundred  miles  above  Natchitoches.  They  felt  gratified, 
however,  in  having  passed  the  Great  Raft,  for  the  people  below 
had  laughed  at  the  idea  of  their  doing  so  with  such  boats. 

4.     Annals  9  Cong.,  2,  1089  ff.     See  pages  51-53. 

83 


Nineteen  miles  above  the  spot  where  they  re-entered  the  river 
lay  the  village  of  the  Coashiitta  (Coashatta,  Coashatay)  Indians. 
These,  with  their  neighbors,  the  Caddoes/'  were  agriculturalists 
and  in  a  stage  of  culture  comparable  to  that  of  the  Cherokees. 
From  Natchitoches  Sibley  had  sent  out  an  Indian  guide,  Talapoon 
by  name,  to  invite  the  Caddoes  to  meet  the  party  at  the  Coashutta 
village.  As  the  explorers  were  proceeding  thither  Talapoon  and 
a  companion  met  them,  bringing  information  that  a  party  of  three 
hundred  Spaniards  were  encamped  a  few  miles  back  of  the  Caddo 
village,  for  the  evident  purpose  of  intercepting  them.  The  officer 
commanding  this  party  had  asked  the  Caddo  chief  if  he  loved  the 
Americans.  To  this  question  the  chief  replied  evasively  that  h^ 
loved  all  men,  and  that  the  Spaniards  must  not  spill  blood  on  his 
land.  The  officer  departed  without  replying,  and  the  perplexed 
chief  immediately  despatched  the  messenger  to  Freeman. 

On  the  23rd  of  June  they  arrived  at  the  Coashutta  village,  and 
three  days  later  formally  presented  its  chief  with  an  American 
flag,  in  lieu  of  the  Spanish  standard  with  which  he  had  desired  to 
celebrate  the  expected  arrival  of  the  Caddoes.  On  July  ist  the 
Indian  guests  arrived,  and  were  received  by  the  Americans  with  a 
salute  and  other  formalities.  This  marked  attention  had  its  effect 
upon  the  savages,  who  were  little  accustomed  to  receive  such  def- 
erential treatment.  This  effect  was  heightened  by  the  skillful  way 
in  which  Freeman  explained  the  wishes  of  the  President  regarding 
the  Indians,  and  the  difficulties  he  and  his  party  had  already 
encountered  in  carrying  out  that  policy.  His  speech  pleased  the 
chief,  who  in  reply  dwelt  upon  the  previous  good  relations  of  his 
people  with  the  French  and  Spaniards,  and  their  determination 
never  to  shed  the  blood  of  white  men.     He  was  pleased  with  what 

i  he  saw  of  the  Americans,  and  wished  them  to  visit  all  the  tribes 
along  the  river,  at  the  same  time  especially  commending  his 
friends  the  Panis  (Pawnees),  and  warning  the  explorers  against 
tlie  Osages.  On  his  departure,  on  the  3rd  of  July,  he  nromised  to 
^  keep  Freeman  informed  of  the  movements  of  the  Spaniards,  and 
to  forbid  the  latter  to  interfere  with  the  Americans  within  a  dis- 
tance of  fifty  leagues  above  the  ancient  village  of  his  people — some 

''-  three  hundred  leagues  farther  up  the  river.     The  Americans  en- 


5.     See  page  75. 

84 


gaged  three  of  the  Caddoes  to  act  as  guides,  spies,  or  messengers, 
and  when  these  joined  the  Americans  on  the  loth,  they  brought 
word  that  the  Spaniards  had  retired  to  the  Sabine — a  palpable 
ruse  pointing  to  an  attack  farther  up  the  Red. 

Leaving  the  Coashutta  village  on  the  nth,  they  passed  through 
a  most  inviting  region  extending  to  the  mouth  of  the  Little  River, 
162  miles  above.  On  the  25th  they  reached  a  prairie,  upon  the 
borders  of  which  was  the  site  of  a  former  Caddo  village,  and  also, 
so  their  guides  reported,  a  French  military  post.  Of  the  latter 
the  explorers  found  no  other  traces  than  a  few  cedar  pilings.  On 
following  day  three  Indian  runners  from  the  Caddo  chief  brought 
news  that  a  force  of  Spaniards,  estimated  at  1,100,  had  entered 
their  village,  cut  down  the  American  flag,  insulted  their  chief,  and 
threatened  to  kill  the  Americans  if  they  resisted  their  attempt  to 
stop  them.  The  Indians  spoke  of  the  Spanish  leader  as  a  "bad" 
man,  and  besought  the  Americans  to  return  without  encountering 
him.  Upon  Freeman's  declaring  that  his  instructions  were  to 
proceed  until  stopped  by  a  superior  force,  the  Indians  chose  to  go 
with  him,  although  they  were  certain  they  would  not  return  alive. 

On  the  following  morning  the  explorers  made  a  "cache"  of 
some  of  their  provisions,  ammunition,  instruments,  and  most  im- 
portant field  notes,  and  then  proceeded  on  their  voyage,  taking 
nrecautions  to  avoid  a  surprise.  At  nightfall  on  the  28th  shots 
were  heard  along  the  river  above,  and  the  next  morning  their 
Indian  scouts  reported  the  presence  of  a  large  force  of  Spaniards. 
They  now  proceeded  cautiously,  with  arms  in  readiness  and  with 
patrols  moving  ahead  on  each. bank.  The  American  force  pres- 
ently came  upon  a  picket  guard  of  some  twenty-two  Spaniards, 
who  immediately  fled.  Another  turn  of  the  river  brought  into 
view  the  Spanish  camp,  on  a  bluff  half  a  mile  distant. 

The  Spanish  force  sent  to  intercept  the  Americans  was  under  \ 
the  command  of  Don  Francisco  V'iana,  adjutant  and  inspector  of  ) 
the  Internal  Provinces,  who  then  commanded  the  garrison  of 
Nacogdoches.  A  veteran  of  firm  and  unbending  character,**  he 
was  eminently  fitted  for  the  task  before  him.  Leaving  Nacog- 
doches on  the  1 2th  of  July,  the  force  reached  the  Caddo  village, 
as  reported  above,  where  they  were  greeted  by  the  spectacle  of  an 

6.     Coues,  Expeditions  of  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike,  II,  711). 

85 


American  flag  flaunting-  a  welcome  to  them.  As  the  Indians  were 
somewhat  tardy  in  removing  it,  Viana  ordered  it  to  be  cut  down/ 
possibly  as  an  object  lesson  in  the  method  he  intended  to  adopt 
with  the  exploring  force.  In  his  determination  to  capture,  kill  or 
drive  back  the  Americans,  Viana  pressed  rapidly  forward,  and 
now,  at  a  point  some  635  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Red  River, 
he  awaited  his  expected  prey. 

The  exploring  party  halted  for  dinner  at  the  usual  hour,  but 
during  the  somewhat  hurried  preparation  for  this  meal,  they 
descried  a  large  detachment  of  Spanish  horse  on  the  opposite  bank, 
coming  at  full  gallop  toward  them.  The  majority  of  the  Ameri- 
can force  were  ordered  to  take  position  in  the  canebrake  and 
bushes  that  Jined  the  bluff,  in  readiness  to  fire  with  the  sentinels 
below.  Here,  concealed  from  view  and  in  a  place  inacces- 
sible to  the  cavalry,  they  were  prepared  to  give  the  enemy  a  severe 
reception.  In  addition,  a  non-commissioned  officer  and  six  pri- 
vates were  so  stationed  as  to  be  in  the  rear  of  the  Spaniards  when 
the  latter  crossed  the  river. 

Through  the  river  at  full  speed  rode  the  enemy,  and,  disre- 
garding the  challenge  of  the  sentinels,  pressed  toward  the  boats, 
drawn  up  on  the  beach.  A  second  and  more  menacing  warning 
caused  them  to  halt  and  deploy  in  line,  while  their  officers  came 
forward  to  confer  with  Captain  Sparks  and  Mr.  Freeman.  A 
parley  of  some  three-quarters  of  an  hour  ensued.  Viana  stated 
that  he  had  positive  orders  to  stop  the  explorers,  and  to  fire  upon 
them  if  they  persisted  in  advancing,  before  the  limits  of  the  two 
countries  were  defined.  Freeman  stated  the  instructions  of  the 
President  to  explore  the  river  to  its  sources,  and  requested  the 
Spaniard  to  give  in  writing  his  reasons  for  objecting  to  the 
passage  of  his  party.  Viana  refused  to  do  this,  but  asserted  upon 
his  honor  that  he  was  acting  under  direct  orders  from  his  govern- 
ment; and  he  peremptorily  inquired  when  the  Americans  would 
begin  their  return  journey. 

It  was  evident  that  Freeman  had  met  with  the  greatly  superior 
force  mentioned  in  his  instructions,  although  it  was  Spanish 
and    not     native.^      Moreover,     the    difficulties     already    expe- 

7.  Salcedo  to  Iturrigraray,  Aug.  25,  1806.  Bexar  Archives;  Balti- 
more Telegraphe  and  Daily  Advertiser,  Oct.  8,  1806. 

8.  See  page  43. 

86 


rienced    with    their    barges    showed    the    impracticability    of    a 
farther  ascent  at  this  stage  of  the  water.     Nor  was  their  supply 
of  Indian  presents  adequate  to  procure  enough  horses  from  the 
Panis   (Pawnees),  two  hundred  miles  above,  to  transport  their 
party  to  the  mountains.     To  crown  all,  they  were  confronted  by 
an  overwhelming  force,  outnumbering  their  own  five  to  one,  and 
although  their  position  and  spirit  might  make  the  outcome  of  a 
battle  doubtful,  their  leader  bore  definite  instructions  from  Presi- 
dent Jefferson  to  avoid  open  hostilities  at  all  hazards.     Accord- 
ingly, after  consultation  with  his  fellow  officers,  Freeman  replied.  / 
that  he  would  begin  his  retreat  the  following  day.     On  the  30th  \ 
the  return  movement  began ;  on  the  8th  of  August  they  were  at  I 
the  Coashutta  village,  and  by  the  latter  part  of  the  month  at 
Natchitoches. 

Apparently  President  JeflFerson's  plan  for  the  exploration  of 
the  Louisiana  Purchase  had  utterly  failed.     The  net  results  of  two 
years  of  careful  planning  and  of  unusually  liberal  government 
expenditure  were  meagre  enough.     Dunbar  and  Hunter  had  made 
a  fairly  complete  scientific  exploration  of  the  Washita.     Freeman  j 
had  penetrated  the  Red  some  six  hundred  miles,  but  this  was  i  ^ 
barely  as  far  as  actual  French  occupation  had  extended,  and  by  no 
means  equalled  the  French  explorations  of  the  preceding  century. 
Freeman  had  also  established  cordial  relations  with  two  minor   " 
Indian  tribes,  but  by  almost  immediately  yielding  to  Viana's  force, 
he  probably  compromised  in  their  eyes  his  government's  reputa-  - 
tion,  especially  if  he  had  previously  told  them  that  the  Spaniards 
had  agreed  to  withdraw  their  garrisons  from  all  the  waters  of  the 
Mississippi.^ 

The  incidents  in  connection  with  the  stopping  of  Freeman's 
party  gave  added  fuel  to  the  heated  correspondence  that  for  a  time 
threatened   to    stir   up   the   whole   Louisiana   frontier.^^     In   an 
aggressive  communication  August  26,  1806,  Governor  Claiborne  \ 
informed  Herrera,  the  Spanish  commander,  that  Freeman  and  his   I 
associates   were   navigating  waters   wholly   within  the   territory/ 
ceded  bv  France  to  the  United  States.     The  fact  that  thev  were 


9.     See  pages  41  and  42. 

10.     For  the  correspondence  see  American  State  Papers,  For.  Rel., 
II,  801-804;  Mil.  Aff.,  I,  205-206;    Wilkinson  Papers,  II,  Sept.  18,  1806. 


compelled  b}^  force  to  return  was  all  the  more  objectionable, 
because  the  aim  of  the  expedition  was  wholly  scientific  and  not 
in  the  least  harmful  to  Spain.  Moreover,  its  purpose  had  been 
explained  to  Casa  Calvo,  who  gave  it  his  passport,  and  by  him 
should  have  been  made  known  to  the  Texas  authorities.  The  cut- 
ting down  of  an  American  flag  in  the  Caddo  village,  which  during 
the  French  occupation  of  Louisiana  had  been  garrisoned  by 
French  troops,  was  a  wholly  gratuitous  insult  to  the  territory  and 
government  of  the  United  States.  In  his  reply  Herrera  denied  in 
toto  the  territorial  claims  of  Claiborne,  although  with  little  his- 
torical authority,  and  stated  that  the  cutting  down  of  the  flag  had 
been  rendered  necessary  bv  the  tardy  obedience  of  the  Indians. 
Claiborne  immediately  reiterated  his  former  charges,  which  he 
claimed  that  the  other  had  in  no  sense  answered. 

Herrera,  unable  to  announce  a  final  decision,  transmitted  the 
correspondence  to  Captain-General  Salcedo.  His  answer  of  Sep- 
tember i8  accepted  the  contention  of  Herrera,  that  the  spot  where 
Freeman  was  stopped  never  pertained  to  France.  He  also  at- 
tempted, unfortunately  for  his  historical  reputation,  to  bolster  up 
this  claim  by  a  reference  to  a  Spanish  expedition  of  1630,  which 
penetrated  to  the  Empalizada  (Mississippi),  and  to  that  of  Teran,  in 
T691,  which  penetrated  beyond  the  Caddoes  to  Mobile. ^^  When 
he  took  up  the  subject  of  Casa  Calvo's  passport,  Salcedo  was 
tieading  more  solid  ground,  and  he  speedily  showed  that  he  had 
refused  to  ratify  Casa  Calvo's  action,  and  had  offered  to  supply 
the  American  authorities  with  any  necessary  information  regard- 
ing the  Red,  Arkansas,  and  Missouri.  It  is  probable  that  the  wily 
Marquis  never  apprised  Governor  Claiborne  of  this  fact,  but  Sal- 
cedo was  in  no  way  responsible  for  the  omission. 

Brushing  aside  pretexts  based  upon  territorial  claims  and  use- 
less passports,  Salcedo  passed  to  the  broader  field  of  international 
courtesy,  and  stated  that  no  nation  ought  to  break  harmonious 
relations  with  another  by  introducing  armed  forces  into  its  terri- 
tory.    It  was  a  notorious  fact  that  the  Caddoes  were   Spanish 


11.  The  best  that  can  be  said  about  the  former  expedition  is  that  it 
is  doubtful  if  it  penetrated  within  several  hundred  miles  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  while  the  latter  did  reach  the  Red  River,  Teran  did  not  pene- 
trate bej^ond  it.      Tr.ras  Hist.  Quarterly,  V,  196. 


H8 


Indians,^  ^  and  accordingly.,  the  American  force  had  no  business 
to  be  lingering  there.  The  government  of  the  United  States, 
however,  as  was  shown  by  Dr.  Sibley's  conduct  and  the  introduc- 
tion of  parties  along  the  Missouri,  was  sparing  no  means  to  draw 
the  Indians  from  Spanish  allegiance.  Thus  the  conduct  of  its 
representatives  was  not  in  harmony  with  its  general  policy. 

The  incident  regarding  the  flag,  he  continued,  was  capable  of 
another  interpretation  than  the  one  Claiborne  put  upon  it.  The 
Indians,  after  insulting  the  Spanish  flag,  had  fled  from  their  vil- 
lage upon  the  approach  of  the  Spaniards,  and  it  had  been  judged 
necessary  to  give  them  an  object  lesson.  The  flags  of  both 
nations  had  been  used  as  articles  with  which  to  regale  the  Indians, 
and  as  such  were  open  to  other  than  the  usual  respectful  treat- 
ment. He  closed  his  letter,  which  was  a  strong  ex  parte  state- 
ment, with  a  request  for  mutual  peace  pending  the  question  of 
limits.  We  have  no  record  that  Claiborne  sent  a  reply,  for  before 
this  was  received  General  Wilkinson  was  in  command  on  the 
frontier. 

In  his  sixth  annual  message  of  December  2,  1806,^^  Jefferson 
mentioned  with  a  moderate  amount  of  enthusiasm,  the  successful 
outcome  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition  and  the  valuable  addi- 
tions made  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  by  Lieu- 
tenant Pike.  The  attempt  up  the  Red  River,  though  conducted 
with  meri table  zeal  and  prudence,  had  not  met  with  an  equal 
degree  qf  success.  The  President  stated  that  after  proceeding  six 
hundred  miles  up  the  river,  ''nearly  as  far  as  the  French  settle- 
ment extended  ^  while  the  country  was  in  their  possession,  our 
geographers  were  obliged  to  return  without  completing  their 
work."  Madison  believed  that  this  expression  had  the  advantage 
of  suggesting  a  plausible  reason  for  not  going  on,  but  that  it  might 
also  imply  that  the  French  settlements  were  the  limit  of  the  Amer- 
ican claims. 

The  result  of  Freeman's  expedition  must  have  been  a  bitter 
disappointment  to  the  President,  despite  his  attempt  in  his  annual 
message  to  gloss  it  over  and  persuade  others  that  it  strengthened 

12.  Dunbar  (Journal,  64-66)  says  that  the  Caddoes  "  may  be  consid- 
ered as  Spanish  Indians",  and  it  was  reported  that  the  Spaniards  stirred 
them  up  to  enmity  against  the  Americans. 

13.  Ford,  Writings  of  Jefferson,  VIII,  482-495. 

89 


our  claim  to  the  Red  River.^^  He  recommended  a  small 
annual  appropriation  for  the  purpose  of  continuing  the  explora- 
tion, and  a  committee  of  the  House,  of  which  Alston,  of  South 
Carolina,  was  chairman,  mentioned  favorably  the  geographical 
results  from  the  work  of  Lewis  and  Clark  on  the  Missouri,  of  Pike 
up  the  Mississippi,  and  of  Freeman  up  the  Red.  The  report  spoke 
of  this  work  as  furnishing  materials  for  "commencing"  a  map  of 
the  region,  pointed  out  the  immense  work  still  to  be  done  in 
exploring  the  rmaining  rivers  and  mountain  ridges  forming 
the  western  boundary,  and  heartily  endorsed  the  President's 
plan;^-^  but  an  unduly  economical  Congress  took  no  action.  The 
Neutral  Ground  Agreement  between  Wilkinson  and  Herrera,^*' 
doubtless  led  to  an  abandonment  of  the  Red  as  the  scene  of  ex- 
ploration. For  a  time  Jefferson  cherished  the  plan  of  sending 
Freeman  and  Lieutenant  James  B.  Wilkinson,  together  with  the 
naturalist  Wilson,  up  the  Arkansas  in  1807,  but  afterwards,  owing 
to  a  lack  of  funds,  abandoned  even  this.^"^  Thirteen  years  were  to 
pass  before  the  United  States  government  sent  its  next  formal 
expedition  through  any  portion  of  the  Louisiana  Territory; 
although  the  President  was  shortly  called  upon  to  adopt  and  make 
his  own  the  second  expedition  which  Pike  was  preparing  to  make 
under  Wilkinson's  direction. 


14.  Ford,  Writings  of  Jefferso?i,  VIII,  484,  Jefferson  to  Dearborn, 
June  22,  1807. 

15.  Annals  g  Congress,  2,  193,  194.  It  will  be  observed  that  this 
report  displays  a  better  idea  of  the  western  extent  of  Louisiana  than 
that  of  two  years  before.     (See  pag-e  41). 

16.  McCaleb,  The  Aaron  Burr  Conspiracy,  142-163. 

17.  Coues,  Expeditions  of  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike,  827, 835;  Jeffer- 
son Papers,   Ser.  3,  Vol.  11,  No.  47;  Ser.  2,  VoK  29,  No.  90. 


90 


CHAPTER  X. 

PIKE   ON   THE  UPPER   MISSISSIPPI. 

Upon  the  division  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  into  the  terri- 
tories of  Orleans  and  of  Louisiana,  Brigadier-General  James 
Wilkinson,  the  Commander-in-chief  of  the  American  army,  was 
appointed  governor  of  the  latter,  with  headquarters  at  St.  Louis. 
Possibly  Wilkinson  knew  of  tlie  President's  plan  to  explore  the 
Upper  Mississippi  under  the  au.?pices  of  the  Surveyor-General  of 
the  region  north  of  the  Ohio,  and  it  is  more  than  likely  that  he 
knew  of  the  vigorous  complaints,  in  Lewis  and  Clark's  Mandan 
letter,  of  Cameron  and  other  British  fur  traders  on  the  St.  Peters.^ 
But  when,  without  express  order,  he  assumed  the  responsibility  of 
initiating  this  exploration  and  regulating  the  fur  trade,  he  selected 
as  its  chief  figure  an  unknown  young  officer,  little  qualified  by 
previous  training  for  the  task  upon  which  he  entered.  This  selec- 
tion subsequently  received  Jefferson's  tacit  approval,  but  for  the 
time  being  it  seemed  to  set  at  naught  his  previous  proposal,  and 
for  this  reason  arouses  an  inquiry  concerning  Wilkinson's  ultimate 
object. 

In  the  first  place,  by  his  own  subsequent  confession,  Wilkinson 
for  more  than  sixteen  years  had  been  reconnoitering  the  route  to 
Santa  Fe  and  the  Mexican  provinces,  and  in  this  task  he  had  prob- 
ably made  use  of  Philip  Nolan.^  Moreover,  during  the  summer 
preceding  his  Louisiana  appointment  Jefferson  had  invited  him  to 
meet  Humboldt,  then  in  Washington.  Unable  to  accept  the  invi- 
tation, Wilkinson  turned  his  letter  of  regrets  to  the  President^^ 
into  a  series  of  questions  concerning  the  Internal  Provinces,  and 
routes  to  Santa  Pe  and  Mexico  City.  Upon  these  points  he  de- 
sired Jefferson  to  obtain  information  from  Humboldt. 

The  General's  new  situation  afforded  him  an  opportunity  to 


1.  See  pag-e  33.     Thwaites,  Orig.  Jour.,  Lewis  and  Clark,  V ^  286. 

2.  McCaleb,  The  Aaron  Burr  Conspiracy,  128;  Wilkinson,  Memoirs, 
II;  Appendix,  II,  LXXVII. 

2a.  Jefferson  Papers,  Ser.  2,  Vol.  85,  No.  78. 


91 


renew  his  scheme,  but  he  needed  trusty  and  well  qualified  agents 
to  carry  out  the  details.  Accordingly,  in  the  summer  of  1805,  ^^ 
selected  two  minor  expeditions,  apparently  for  the  purpose  of 
testing  two  of  his  young  subordinates,  in  order  to  determine  their 
fitness  for  his  more  important  plan.  Lieutenant  George  Peter,  of 
the  Artillerists,  was  sent  to  accompany  Pierre  Chouteau  to  the 
Osage  Indians ;  and  Lieutenant  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike,  of  the 
First  Regiment  Infantry,  on  the  mission  which  forms  the  subject 
of  this  chapter.  A  sentence  from  one  of  Wilkinson's  letters,  de- 
tailing the  progress  of  these  two  officers,  is  suggestive.  "Inde- 
pendent of  the  immediate  objects  of  these  parties,  they  serve  to 
instruct  our  young  officers  and  also  our  soldiery,  on  subjects  which 
may  hereafter  become  interesting  to  the  United  States. "'^  In  view 
of  Pike's  later  expedition,  these  "interesting  subjects"  would  seem 
to  be  Indian  negotiations  and  explorations  on  the  Spanish  border, 
both  designed  to  pave  the  way  for  an  extensive  Mexican  conquest 
in  which  Wilkinson  should  be  the  central  figure.  Peter  and  Pike 
then  were  being  trained  in  the  practical  school  of  the  wilderness, 
and  in  this  prescribed  course  Pike  speedily  showed  himself  an  apt 
c;nd  willing  pupil,  fit  to  undertake  the  more  extensive  task  pre- 
viously mapped  out  for  Nolan. 

Evidence  to  be  brought  forward  in  connection  with  Pike's 
second  expedition  will  tend  to  strengthen  this  opinion.  At  this 
juncture  the  inquiry  naturally  arises:  To  what  extent  was  Pike, 
the  agent,  acquainted  with  his  principal's  designs?  His  own 
denials  and  his  subsequent  career  favor  the  assumption  that  he 
knew  little  more  than  that  he  was  being  tested  for  some  great  task 
in  connection  with  our  Spanish  relations.  That  he  knew  this 
much  appears  from  the  letter  which  he  directed  to  Wilkinson  from 
Prairie  du  Chien,  September  5,  1805.'*  In  this  letter  there  is  an 
important  lacuna,  evidently  referring  to  the  posture  of  our  affairs 
with  Spain ;  then  follows  the  significant  paragraph : 

"The  above  sugg-estion  would  only  be  acceptable  under  the  idea  of 
our  differences  with  Spain  being  compromised;  as  should  there  be  war, 
the  field  of  action  is  the  sphere  for  young-  men  where  they  hope,  or  at 
least  aspire,  to  g-ather  laurels  or  renown  to  smooth  the  decline  of  age, 
or  a  glorious  death.     You  see,  my  dear  general,  I  write  to  you  like  a  per- 


3.  Coues,  Expeditions  of  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike,  I,  229,  Note  5. 

4.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  225. 

92 


son  addressing"  a  father;  at  the  same  time  I  hope  you  will  consider  me, 
not  only  in  a  professional  but  a  personal  view,  one  who  holds  you  in 
the  highest  respect  and  esteem." 

While  the  paragraph  is  not  as  clear  as  one  could  wish,  it  readily 
lends  itself  to  the  interpretation  that  Pike,  in  time  of  peace,  was 
ready  to  w^in  such  laurels  as  the  southwestern  field  of  exploration 
afforded ;  but  that  he  preferred  to  convert  this  field  into  one  of 
warfare,  where  still  greater  laurels  might  be  his  portion.  At  any 
rate,  he  recognized  the  fact  that  for  the  present  his  opportunities 
and  ambitions  were  bound  up  with  those  of  his  general  and  patron ; 
and  as  long  as  both  were  honorable,  both  could  be  served  together. 

The  instructions  to  Pike  issued  July  30,  1805,^  "^^ly  be  styled 
a  summary  of  those  previously  given  to  Lewis,  and  strengthen  the 
assumption  that  Wilkinson  was  familiar  with  the  main  details  of 
the  President's  plan.  Pike  jwas  to  undertake  the  exploration  to 
the  source ^ol  the  Mississippi,  al  the  same  time  collecting' all  pos- 
sible information  of  its  main  tributaries.  He  was  also  to  attempt 
the  additional  task  of  Indian  negotiation,  with  a  view  to  learn 
ihofe  about  the  fur  trade,  to  acquire  suitable  cessions  for  govern- 
ment forts  and  factories,  and  to  make  peace  between  the  various 
Indian  tribes.  As  a  necessary  corollary  to  his  work  as  explorer 
and  negotiator.  Pike  conceived  it  his  duty  to  make  a  vigorous 
assertion  of  United  States  sovereignty  over  the  trading  establish- 
ments within  our  new  acquisition,  and  his  action  made  this  the 
most  important  feature  of  his  expedition.^ 

Pike's  tripartite  mission,  lasting  from  August  9,  1805,  till  April 
30,  1806,  naturally  suggests  a  comparison  with  Lewis  and  Clark's 
ancT  wTEK  Dunbar's.  It  resembled  the  task  of  Dunbar,  in  that  it 
followed  as  a  direct  result  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  and  was 
designed  to  add  to  our  knowledge  of  a  part  of  the  new  territory. 
In  this  it  differed  in  concept  from  the  Missouri  expedition,  which, 
as  we  have  seen,  was  organized  before  the  territory  was  acquired. 
It  also  differed  from  the  latter  in  the  fact  that  one  bank  of  the 
Mississippi  had,  theoreticallv  at  least,  been  in  our  possession  for  a 
score  of  years,  and  thus  the  whole  region  should  be  much  more 


5.  The  instructions  are  given  in  American  State  Papers,  Misc.,  I, 
942;  Coues,  Pike,  II,  842-844. 

6.  See  opinion  of  Gen.  A.  W.  Greely,  quoted  in  Coues,  Pike,  I, 
XLVIII. 

93 


^ 


familiar  than  the  Missouri  and  its  waters.  That  there  was  really 
little  more  current  knowledge  of  the  head  waters  of  the  former 
than  of  the  latter  was  due  to  the  fact  that  problems  of  other  than 
a  geographical  nature  had  previously  monopolized  the  attention 
of  the  American  statesmen.  Pike  thus  had  the  opportunity  of 
rendering  an  important  service  to  science.  The  most  important 
fact,  however,  which  separated  this  and  Pike's  subsequent  expedi- 
tion from  others  of  the  period,  was  that  they  were  not  directly 
authorized  by  the  President.  Jefferson  later  accepted  and  made 
use  of  the  results  of  Pike's  labors,  and  his  Secretary  of  War  pub- 
licly expressed  his  approbation  of  the  young  explorer.  Moreover, 
Congressional  committees  reported  in  his  favor,  even  while  they 
withheld  the  material  rewards  given  to  Lewis  and  Clark  and  their 
followers;  yet  Pike  suffered  in  contemporary  private  estimation 
because  of  his  connection  with  Wilkinson,  and  has,  in  a  measure, 
since  suffered  from  the  ignominy  which  overtook  his  principal. 

The  geographical  results  of  Pike's  voyage  are  creditable,  but 
not  particularly  brilliant.  In  point  of  natural  talent,  he  seemed 
less  favored  than  either  Lewis  or  Clark,  and  as  regards  scientific 
equipment  he  bore  no  comparison  to  Dunbar  or  Hunter.  Never- 
theless, he  was  energetic  and  measurably  resourceful;  and  by  bis 
energy  and  determination^  aided  by  the  knowledge  derived  from 
others,  he  succeeded  in  amassing  material  that  really  added  to 
popular  knowledge  of  the  Upper  Mississippi.  Besides  the  stray 
observations  scattered  through  the  text,  he  summarized  his  geo- 
graphical work  in  a  special  treatise.'''  This  embraced  not  merely 
an  account  of  the  river  itself,  and  of  its  banks  so  far  as  traversed, 
but  also  some  description  of  the  principal  tributaries,  derived  from 
Indians  or  British  traders.  With  regard  to  the  latter.  Pike  seems 
to  have  occupied  a  more  favorable  position  than  did  Lewis  and 
Clark,  and  his  information  is  consequently  more  complete  and 
accurate.  This  is  particularly  true  with  regard  to  the  Fox- 
Wisconsin  trading  route   from  Michillimackinac  to  the   Missis- 


sippi.^ 


At  the  Des  Moines  Rapids,  at  Dubuque's  lead  mines,  and  at 


7.     Pike,    Expeditions,      App.    to    Pt.    I,     41-56;     Coues,    Pike,    I, 
Chapter  VII. 


8.     Coues,  Pike,  I,  295-303. 


94 


Prairie  du  Chien,  Pike  found  small  settlements,  but  for  the  most 
part  the  savag^es  and  traders  dominated  its  banks  as  completely  as 
those  of  the  Missouri.  The  falls  of  St.  Anthony  did  not  afford 
an  adequate  comparison  with  those  of  the  Missouri,  nor  was  Pike 
there  in  as  favorable  a  season  as  Lewis  and  Clark  experienced  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  latter.  Pike's  excursions  about  the  Mississippi 
headwaters  were  restricted  to  sledge  journeys  in  the  vicinity  of 
Sandy,  Leech,  and  Upper  Red  Cedar  lakes.  He  wrongly  thought 
Leech  Lake  to  be  the  source  of  the  Mississippi,  but  in  so  thinking 
he  was  but  following  the  opinion  of  traders  who  had  spent  years 
in  the  vicinity.  Pike  did  not  pass  beyond  the  valley  of  the  Father 
of  Waters,  although  he  approached  very  near  the  sources  of  some 
streams  flowing  into  the  Red  River,  and  gave  some  description  of 
that  important  drainage  system.  Pike's  geographical  observations 
were  not  important,  being  entirely  superseded  after  some  two 
decades;  and  such  as  they  were.,  were  rendered  still  less  valuable 
by  the  imperfect  instruments  his  hasty  start  forced  him  to  take, 
the  multifarious  duties  he  was  compelled  to  perform  while  on  his 
journey,  and  the  brief  interval  before  his  second  journey  during 
which  to  prepare  his  report. 

/      In  his  Indian  negotiation,  Pike  fared  as  well  as  might  be  exy 
/pccted.     Part  of  the  Indians  with  whom  he  had  to  deal  had  been 
j  living  within  I7nited  States  territory  for  more  than  twenty  years, 
/  although  the  British  had  retained  posts  among  them  till  the  past 
'  decade,  and  still  dominated  their  fur  trade.     These  Indians  felt 
the  greatest  respect  for  certain  individual  American  leaders,  whose 
prowess  they  had  reason  to  remember;  but  th;ey  distrusted  the 
.government  at  Washington,  v/hose  power  they'  could  but  dimly 
comprehend,  and  were  utterly  unable  to  appreciate  the  significance 
of  the  territorial  transfer  across  the  river.     Doubtless  the  British 
traders  in  the  midst  of  them  did  little  to  enlighten  their  ignorance, 
even  if  they  did  not  try  to  render  it  more  dense.     On  the  western 
bank  of   the   Mississippi,  where,  under  nominal   Spanish  sway, 
British  trade  likewise  predominated,  the  fierce  Sioux  and  treach- 
erous Chippewas  also  obtained  their  introduction  to  their  new 
'•great  father"  at  Washington, through  his  beardless  representative 
with   a   handful   of   enlisted    followers.     If,   under   the   circum- 
stances. Pike's  mission  did  not  leave  any  lasting  impression  upon 
the  untutored  or  falsely-tutored  savage  mind,  the  fault  lay  not  so 

95 


much  in  his  lack  of  wilHiigness  or  of  talent,  as  in  his  meagre  re- 
sources and  the  failure  of  the  Washington  government  to  pave 
the  way  for  him  or  to  follow  up  adequately  what  he  had  initiated. 
Pike  made  his  maiden  effort  in  Indian  diplomacy  in  addressing 
some  Saux  at  the  Des  Moines  Rapids  upon  the  particular  subject 
y  of  a  trading  station.^  They  were  unwilHng  or  unable  to  designate 
a  proper  place  for  such  an  establishment,  but  they  Hstened  respect- 
fully to  his  remarks  upon  his  mission  and  accepted  his  presents, 
including  (sad  to  say)  some  whiskey,  undistinguishable  in  quality 
from  the  traders  beverage  whose  prohibition  he  demanded.  Pike 
found  whiskey  a  most  effective  diplomatic  ally,  and  honored  his 
own  rule  by  its  breach  rather  than  its  observance.  He  early  found 
that  among  the  Indians  the  Americans  had  a  reputation  for  vin- 
dictiveness,  and  he  hoped  bv  establishing  a  reputation  for  justice 
to  change  this  into  one  of  wholesome  respect.^^  Unfortunately  he 
tempered  his  justice  by  a  doubtful  mercy  that  appealed  only  to  the 
weaker  side  of  the  aborigine. 

At  Prairie  du  Chien,.  Pike  held  a  council  with  some  Winne- 

bagoes,  at  which  a  Sioux  chief  also  participated.    The  latter  made 

a   request   for   American   medals.     His   first   notable   conference^ 

I     occurred  with  some  Sioux  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Peters  (Minne- 

(     sota).     To  these  new  vassals  Pike  explained  the  recent  territorial 

I     transfer,^-  and  by  diplomatic  representations  and  presents,  coupled 

'      with  methods  decidedly  undiplomatic,  he  succeeded  in  gaining  for 

I      a  song  ($200.00  in  presents)  some  100,000  acres  of  land,  in  the 

vicinity  of  the  St.  Croix  River,  to  be  used  for  a  trading  estabhsh- 

ment.     He  also  explained  the  liberal  policy  of  the  United  States 

in  trading  with  the  natives,  and  urged  them  to  further  the  desire 

\   of  the  President  for  peace  among  the  Indians  by  burying  the 

hatchet  with  the  Chippewas.     Inconsistent  with  his  own  action, 

he  urged  a  drastic  policy  in  breaking  up  the  trade  in  whiskey,  by 

urging  his  hearers  to  refuse  to  pay  their  debts  to  traders  who 

continued  the  practice. ^^ 

The  response  of  the   Sioux  to  Pike,  while  not  cordial,  was 


9,     Coues,  Ptke,  I,  16,  17. 

10.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  34. 

11.  Pike  erroneously  said  that  it  allowed  us  "  to  put  one  foot  on  the 
sea  in  the  east  and  the  other  one  on  the  sea  in  the  west". 

12.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  83,  226-240. 

96 


fairly  satisfactory.     They  ceded  the  lands  asked  for,  although 
protesting    against    signing  the  treaty,  but  were  doubtful  with 
regard  to  peace  with  the  Chippewas.     However,  they  promised  a 
safe  conduct  for  Pike  and  any  of  their  chiefs  that  he  chose  to   / 
bring  down  the  river;  but  wished  the  United  States  to  assist  in 
chastising  them,  if  they  did  not  keep  the  peace.     With  this  Pike 
was  forced  to  be  content  and  to  pass  on  to  try  his  diplomacy  upon  1 
their  immemorial  foes.     Pike  had  expected  to  reach  Sandy  Lake,/ 
the  reputed  source  of  the  river,  in  time  to  return  to  St.  Louis/ 
before  winter,  but  he  now  learned  that  the  source  was  in  Leech 
Lake,  some  sixty  miles  further  on,  and  determined  to  see  this 
lake.^^     This    determination    involved    an    exceedingly    difficult 
winter  journey,  not  contemplated  in  his  instructions. 

Sending  minor  presents  to  the  Sioux  up  the  St.  Peters,  the 
young  explorer  proceeded  up  the  main  stream,  passing  St.  An- 
thony's Falls  late  in  September,  and  in  the  course  of  the  follow- 
ing month  erected  a  stockade  some  i  lo  miles  above,  where  he  left 
a  small  party  with  the  large  boat.  He  remained  in  the  vicinity 
about  a  month,  constructing  canoes  which  he  afterwards  was 
unable  to  use,  and  providing  a  supply  of  meat  for  the  winter. 
In  these  tasks  Pike  worked  his  men  hard,  but  he  in  no  way  spared 
himself.  Menominee  Indians  gave  him  occasional  bits  of  inform- 
ation concerning  proposed  hostilities  between  the  Sioux  and  Chip- 
pewas, and  their  possible  relations  to  his  party.  Finally,  in  the 
middle  of  December,  the  overturning  of  a  canoe  caused  him  to 
abandon  the  river  route  and  to  undertake  an  overland  journey, 
dragging  his  provisions  on  sledges.  The  young  lieutenant  was 
forced  to  perform  the  duties  of  hunter,  spy,  guide,  and  command- 
ing officer,  and  often  at  night  was  too  weary  to  make  adequate 
notes  of  the  day's  march.  In  this  fashion  the  small  party  pressed 
on  to  Lower  Cedar  Lake,  where  Pike  was  entertained  at  a  North- 
West  Company  house,  and  a  few  days  later  reached  a  similar 
establishment  on  Sandy  Lake.  In  the  latter  part  of  January  he 
pressed  on  to  Leech  Lake,  from  which  he  also  visited  Cass  Lake, 
near  the  Height  of  Land ;  and  at  the  former  lake,  on  February  i6, 
held  his  second  important  council  with  the  Indians.^* 

13.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  83,  240,  241. 

14.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  88-169,  passim. 

97 


In  this  conference,  attended  by  the  Chippewas  in  the  vicinity 
of  Leech  Lake,  Pike  mentioned  the  plan  of  the  President  to  open 
a  pathway  to  the  west  and  the  resulting  expedition  of  Lewis,  of 
whose  sojourn  at  the  Mandans  the  preceding  winter,  they  had 
doubtless  heard.  His  own  presence  was  due  to  the  desire  of  the 
President  to  bring  peace  to  his  warring  Red  Children,  and  to  per- 
suade them  to  visit  his  great  war  chief  at  St.  Louis.  He  spoke 
of  the  promises  of  the  Saux,  Foxes,  Winnebagoes,  and  Sioux  to 
observe  a  mutual  peace,  and  required  his  hearers  also  to  bury  the 
hatchet.  He  demanded  the  surrender  of  British  flags  and 
medals,  and  spoke  of  future  measures  to  break  up  the  trade  in 
whiskey.^^  To  this  speech  the  Indians  responded  with  becoming 
submission,  but  were  evasive  in  making  definite  promises.  The 
proposition  to  visit  St.  Louis  aroused  considerable  opposition,  and 
showed  the  Indians  to  be  fertile  in  plausible  pretexts.  Finally 
Pike  made  a  direct  challenge  of  their  courage,  and  this  aroused 
the  grudging  assent  of  two  of  the  younger  chiefs.  Most  of  the 
conferees  appeared  to  welcome  the  prospect  of  peace,  while  they 
likewise  accepted  the  change  in  sovereignty  by  delivering  their 
British  flags  and  medals.  The  conference  ended.  Pike  began  to 
retrace  his  steps.  In  the  course  of  his  journey  his  young  Chip- 
pewas left  him  upon  pretense  of  joining  him  later,  but,  of  course, 
failed  to  do  so.  On  March  5,  he  arrived  at  his  temporary  post  on 
the  Mississippi,  where  he  found  the  misconduct  of  the  sergeant 
m  charge  made  his  presence  indispensable.^^ 

While  awaiting  the  opening  of  the  river,  Pike  received  a  num- 
ber of  visits  from  the  Menominees,  who  had  expected  to  find  some 
Chippewas  with  him.  Although  disappointed,  they  promised  to 
meet  him  later  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Peters.  Before  he  left  the 
spot,  Pike  succeeded  in  holding  a  minor  conference  with  the 
Menomonees,  at  which  a  Chippewa  arid  Winnebago  were  present. 
Leaving  his  post  on  the  6th  of  April,  he  made  the  portage  of  St. 
Anthony's  Falls  a  few  days  later,  in  much  better  snirits  than 
during  the  previous  fall,  for  his  journey  now  promised  to  be  fairly 
successful.  At  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Peters  he  held  a  preliminary 
conference  with  the  Sissetons  and  other  Sioux,  but  owing  to  a 

15.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  171,  254. 

16.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  172-180. 

98 


poor  interpreter  was  not  very  successful.  Some  of  those  present 
were  recalcitrant  about  smoking-  the  Chippewa  pipe  which  he  bore 
as  a  token  of  peace  from  those  treacherous  savages,  and  others 
threatened  to  break  their  agreement;  so  the  hot-blooded  young 
officer  was  obliged  to  threaten  future  punishment  if  their  actions 
were  not  satisfactory.  At  Lake  Pepin  he  refused  to  await  a  few 
hours  beyond  the  agreed  time  to  meet  with  some  other  Sioux, 
believing  that  this  peremptory  course  was  the  only  safe  one  to 
employ  with  the  savages.^^ 

When  he  reached  Prairie  du  Chien,  the  young  diplomat,  in  his 
conference  of  April  20,  1806,  addressed  himself  to  the  difficult  task 
of  compellmg  the  Winnebagoes  to  deliver  up  certain  murderers  of 
their  tribe,  and  also  certain  British  flags  and  medals.  In  their 
reply  of  the  following  day  they  stated  that  they  would  deliver  one 
of  the  criminals  up  to  him,  or  all  of  them  later  to  General  Wilkin- 
son at  St.  Louis,  and  also  bring  with  them  any  British  tokens. 
Pike  took  them  at  their  word,  but  warned  them  not  to  deceive  him. 
On  the  same  day  he  held  a  conference  with  some  Sioux,  and  re- 
ported the  peaceful  message  of  the  Chippewas.  The  Sioux  agreed 
to  this  peace,  but  doubted  the  faith  of  their  enemies.  They  also 
appeared  to  be  jealous  of  the  fact  that  Lewis  and  Clark  the  pre- 
vious year  had  omitted  them  in  distributing  medals  and  flags. 
Pike  assured  them  that  he  would  provide  them  with  these  tokens. 
They  were  also  perplexed  with  regard  to  the  liquor  traffic.  This 
was  forbidden  on  the  western  bank  of  the  river,  but  openly  per- 
mitted upon  the  eastern,  where  American  sovereignty  had  been 
longest  established.  Pike  assured  them  that  for  the  future  no 
liquor  was  to  be  sold  upon  either  bank.  Pike  ended  his  career  of 
Indian  diplomacy  by  regretting,  in  company  with  a  fellow  officer, 
that  his  compassion  prevented  them  from  making  an  attack  upon 
some  towns  of  Saux  and  Foxes  who  were  beginning  to  exhibit  an 
ugly  temper  towards  the  Americans.^^ 

The  most  obvious  result  to  be  expected  from  Pike's  Indian 
policy  was  peace  between  the  Chippewas  and  the  Sioux;  but 
neither  he  nor  subsequent  Indian  agents,  for  many  decades,  were 
able  to  accomplish  this  desired  result.     Pike  found  that  the  Chip- 


17.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  180-205,  passim. 

18.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  205-210. 

99 


pewas  had  a  wholesome  respect  for  the  Americans,  whom  they 
styled  "White  Indians,"  but  he  distrusted  them,  and  felt  that  they 
were  in  every  way  inferior  to  the  Sioux.  Of  the  latter  he  was 
able  to  give  a  much  better  account  than  Lewis  and  Clark  did,  and 
he  seemed  proud  of  this  fact.  In  general,  one  gains  the  idea  that 
the  native  shrewdness  of  Pike's  conferees  was  more  than  a  match 
for  his  straightforward  demands  or  occasional  indirect  dealings; 
while  his  (to  them)  officious  meddHng  served  only  to  intensify  the 
bitterness  of  intertribal  warfare.  He  certainly  made  some  impres- 
sion, but  it  was  followed  by  no  effective  governmental  action. 

In  his  task  of  asserting  American  sovereignty  over  the  British 
tr<?ding  establishments  that  dotted  the  region  in  surprising  num- 
bers, Pike  was  reasonably  successful.  Soon  after  leaving  St. 
Louis  he  began  to  meet  evidences  of  British  trading  influence,  and 
with  the  increase  of  these  he  naturally  began  to  emphasize  that 
feature  of  his  mission.  The  results  of  the  policy  of  some  of  the 
traders  appear  also  in  the  journals  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  and  show 
how  widespread  were  their  operations.  With  a  few  unimportant 
exceptions,  they  showed  Pike  every  courtesy  and  made  possible 
the  measure  of  success  he  achieved. 

Some  distance  below  the  Minnesota.  Pike  fell  in  with  the 
trader,  Murdock  Cameron,  "a  Scotchman  by  birth  and  an  English- 
man by  prejudice,"  whose  unscrupulous  use  of  the  deadly  "fire- 
water," complained  of  by  Lewis  and  Clark,  led  Pike  later  to  prefer 
serious  charges  against  him.  Yet  he  made  some  use  of  him  in 
distributing  medals  to  the  Indians,  while  he  himself  accepted  some 
trifling  presents  frc^  his  partner.  The  subject  of  the  liquor  traffic 
was  a  diii*»ren4:  one  for  the  young  officer,  as  he  was  not  consistent 
with  his  principles.  He  did  succeed  in  getting  a  promise  from  one 
trader  to  abandon  the  practice,  but  others  persisted,  in  open 
defiance  of  his  attempted  regulation,  or  demanded  with  ill-con- 
cealed insolence  a  vi^ritten  order  to  abandon  it.^^ 

One  of  the  traders,  whose  clerk  had  aroused  Pike's  suspicion, 
was  Colonel  Robert  Dickson.  When  Pike  arrived  at  the  point  on 
the  Mississippi  where  he  erected  his  stockade,  from  Indian  ac- 
counts he  formed  the  opinion  that  Dickson  was  spreading  false 
hopes  among  the  natives  concerning  the  objects  and  resources  of 


19.     Coues,  Pike,  I,  88,  204,  243,  262. 

100 


his  expedition.  The  explorer  believed  that  Dickson  did  this  in 
order  later  to  arouse  their  prejudices  against  him,  should  he  fail 
to  realize  their  expectations.  A  few  days  later  Pike  met  Dickson, 
and  was  led  to  correct  his  opinion  of  the  latter,  whom  he  found 
not  only  a  man  of  splendid  traits,  but  likewise  willing  to  furnish 
substantial  help  and  valuable  information.^^ 

Above  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  Pike, 
without  this  aid  from  the  British  traders,  would  have  been  able  to 
accomplish  anything  worth  while.  It  was  the  number  of  these 
traders  and  of  their  establishments  upon  the  lakes  of  Northern 
Minnesota,  coupled  with  the  cordial  reception  and  hearty  aid  of 
Dickson  and  his  associates,  that  enabled  Pike  to  move  any  dis- 
tance at  all  from  his  stockade,  or  to  gain  the  very  faint  idea  he 
possessed  of  the  lakes  that  fed  the  mighty  Father  of  Waters.  Pike 
may  justly  have  felt  his  anger  rise  at  the  sight  of  the  British  flag 
waving  from  the  North-West  establishment  at  Lower  Red  Cedar 
Lake,  and  he  may  not  have  felt  much  better  when  informed  that 
the  flag  belonged  to  the  Indians;  but  it  was  the  director  of  this 
establishment  that  received  him  and  his  followers  after  a  most 
fatiguing  march  through  the  midwinter  snow,  assisted  him  in  con- 
structing sleds  for  the  remainder  of  the  journey,  and  aided  his 
explorations  of  the  surrounding  region.  A  few  days  later  he 
arrived  at  the  Leech  Lake  establishment  late  at  nighty  and  found 
the  gate  was  barred;  but  once  making  himself  known,  he  was 
welcome  with  more  than  ordinary  cordiality.  Pike,  who  had  pre- 
ceded his  men,  was  so  impressed  by  the  sincerity  of  his  reception 
that  he  raised  no  objections  to  the  reception  of  his  companions  by 
a  display  of  the  British  flag.^^ 

Sitting  by  the  fireside  of  the  Leech  Lake  house,  reading  and 
nursing  his  swollen  feet  while  awaiting  the  approach  of  his 
equally  miserable  companions.  Pike  must  have  appeared  more  in 
the  guise  of  a  recipient,  rather  than  a  bestower  of  favors ;  but  he 
never  forgot  the  dignity  of  his  mission.  On  the  6th  of  February 
he  addressed  to  his  host,  Hugh  McGillis,  a  letter^^  explaining  the 
position  of  his  government  toward  foreign  companies.     The  right, 


20.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  119. 

21.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  133-152,  passim, 

22.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  247-250. 

101 


under  the  Jay  treaty,  to  trade  with  Indians  did  not  exempt  the 
traders  from  duties,  licenses,  or  the  laws  for  the  regulation  of  the 
trade.  The  circle  of  British  posts  along  Lake  Superior,  the  Mis- 
sissippi, the  Red  River,  and  extending  far  into  the  interior  of 
Louisiana,  was  a  menace  to  the  interests  of  American  traders,  for 
the  latter  had  to  pay  duties  upon  the  goods  they  used  in  the  trade. 
It  was  doubtful,  therefore,  if  this  new  territory,  acquired  since 
the  treaty  of  1794,  would  continue  open  freely  to  the  British 
traders.  In  addition,  he  complained  of  such  reprehensible  prac- 
tices as  furnishing  British  flags,  medals,  and  whiskey  to  the 
Indians;, and  expressed  the  fear  that  in  time  of  war  the  company's 
establishments  would  afford  convenient  places  for  the  distribution 
of  arms  to  be  used  against  the  United  States. 

Although  these  facts,  in  Pike's  opinion,  justified  the  confisca- 
tion of  all  the  North-West  Company's  property  within  the  limits 
of  the  United  States,  such  a  course  was  hardly  worthy  of  himself 
or  of  his  government,  for  the  British  traders  probably  intended  no 
disrespect  in  continuing  the  policy,  to  which  they  had  become  ac- 
customed through  Spanish  and  American  neglect.  However,  in 
view  of  the  importance  of  the  trade,  as  shown  by  his  own  personal 
observation,  he  would  demand  the  following  changes  for  the 
future.  First,  that  an  annual  statement  of  the  probable  amount 
of  goods  to  be  introduced  through  the  various  factories  be  made 
out  in  time  to  enter  these  goods  at  the  Michillimackinac  custom 
house.  Second,  that  at  no  time  should  a  British  flag  be  displayed 
within  the  limits  of  the  United  States — the  American  flag  should 
be  employed,  if  any  were  necessary.  Third,  that  the  British  should 
present  no  flag  or  medal  to  the  Indians,  nor  enter  into  any  political 
relations  with  them;  but  they  should  refer  all  such  questions  to 
the  American  authorities.  Fourth,  for  all  other  points  involved 
in  the  trade,  including  the  sale  of  liquors,  they  should  observe  the 
laws  of  the  United  States  upon  the  subject. 

These  demands  of  Pike  were  certainly  in  harmony  with 
national  interests  and  honor,  and  although  the  condition  of  Pike 
and  his  party  hardly  permitted  them  to  make  their  demands  with 
due  dignity,  the  British  traders  evidently  looked  beyond  the 
meagre  expedition  and  its  impetuous  leader,  to  the  wider  move- 
ment for  which  they  stood.     The  reply  of  McGillis,  dated  Feb- 


102 


ruary  15,  1806,"^  is  certainly  not  lacking  in  respect,  either  for  Pike 
or  the  government  he  represented.  He  diplomatically  began  by 
expressing  his  appreciation  of  Pike's  moderation.  With  reference 
to  the  payment  of  duties  upon  goods  used  in  the  trade,  he  sug- 
gested that  for  this  year,  when  the  goods  were  already  distributed 
among  the  factories,  a  mere  statement  of  their  value,  based  upon 
the  personal  honor  of  the  traders,  should  be  taken,  instead  of  a 
formal  entry  at  Michillimackinac.  The  British  traders,  as  a 
whole,  he  declared,  rejoiced  at  the  prospect  of  at  length  receiving 
adequate  protection,  and  would  willingly  contribute  their  share 
(in  the  form  of  duties)  toward  this  expense.  *He  disclaimed  any 
military  purpose  in  the  erection  of  stockades,  which  were  designed 
merely  for  their  own  defense  against  the  Indians,  and  which 
would  in  no  sense  serve  as  forts.  Five  days  before  McGillis  deliv- 
ered his  reply,  the  American  standard  replaced  the  British  flag. 

Later,  upon  Pike's  arrival  at  the  Mississippi,  he  very  properly 
refused  to  permit  one  of  Dickson's  agents  to  introduce  among  the 
Menomonees  certain  goods  upon  which  no  duties  had  been  paid. 
These  goods  came  into  competition  with  dutiable  American  goods, 
and  thus  worked  an  injustice  to  the  American  trade.  Despite  this 
refusal,  the  agent  brought  a  Chippewa  chief  to  hold  conferences 
with  the  American  explorer,  and  his  principal  showed  him  every 
attention  In  his  power.^*  It  is  true  that  British  traders  were 
present  in  every  important  conference  with  the  Indians,  but  appar- 
ently Pike,  even  in  their  presence,  did  not  spare  his  criticism  of 
some  of  their  methods.  What  impression  this  compHance  had 
upon  the  savage  minds  it  is  impossible  to  say,  but  it  certainly 
smoothed  the  way  for  the  young  explorer  to  make  a  good  impres- 
sion. Pike,  himself,  could  establish  no  definite  charge  of  under- 
hand dealing  with  the  Indians  against  the  nrincipal  traders,  while- 
he  acknov/ledged  the  material  assistance  they  afforded  him. 

In  his  letters  of  April  18  and  July  2^^  Pike  gave  Wilkinson  his 
own  estimate  of  the  importance  of  his  journey.  He  had  pene- 
trated (as  he  mistakenly  thought)  to  the  source  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  had  explored  the  region  bordering  upon  that  river  and  the 


23.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  251-254. 

24.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  176,  189,  196,  261. 

25.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  265,  271. 

103 


Red  River  of  the  North.  For  British  sovereignty,  he  had  substi- 
tuted that  of  the  United  States.  He  had  estabHshed  peace  be- 
tween the  Sioux  and  the  Chippewas ;  and  had  prepared  an  Indian 
report,  differing  in  its  characterization  of  the  Sioux  from  Lewis 
and  Clark's,  but,  in  his  estimation,  better  founded  upon  personal 
observation,  backed  by  the  testimony  of  those  who  had  dwelt 
among  them.  He  had  composed  a  geographical  report,  vitiated  to 
a  certain  extent,  it  is  true,  bv  poor  instruments  and  a  lack  of  time 
to  arrange  notes,  but  rendered  as  accurate  as  personal  inspection 
and  contemporary  information  could  make  it.  In  addition,  he 
urged  the  importance  of  an  early  settlement  of  the  northern 
boundary  upon  the  basis  of  a  due  west  line  from  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods,  in  order  to  forestall  a  possible  British  claim  to  two-fifths 
of  Louisiana.  The  catalogue  of  services  rendered  by  the  young 
explorer  was  a  fairly  long  one,  and  as  already  pointed  out,  its 
importance  was  somewhat  exaggerated ;  yet  it  is  a  list  of  which  he 
might  well  feel  proud.  Apparently  it  impressed  his  General  with 
the  possibiHty  of  using  him  to  advantage  upon  a  more  extensive 
field  of  operations. 


104 


CHAPTER  XL 

WILKINSON,   PIKE,  AND  THE  SOUTHWEST. 

It  was  on  the  last  day  of  April,  1806,  that  Lieutenant  Pike  \ 
arrived  at  St.  Louis,  and  thus  completed  his  important  journey  up   1 
the  Mississippi.     During  the  following  weeks  he  began  the  prep-   ' 
aration  of  his  various  reports,  and  this  task  was  hastened  by 
receiving  from  Wilkinson  a  proposal  for  a  more  serious  undertak-  ) 
ing — a  tour  to  the^'far  South- West.     This  would  involve  visits  to 
unknown  and  possibly  more  treacherous  Indians  than  those  of  the 
Upper  Mississippi :  long  journeys  through  inhospitable  deserts  and 
uncertain  mountains;  and  possibly  hostile  collisions,  upon  a  dis- 
puted frontier,  with  a  jealous,  vigilant  and  resourceful  neighbor. 
The  last  qualification  is  well  attested  by  the  fact  that  Captain- 
General  Salcedo,  at  Chihuahua,  knew  of  Wilkinson's  plan,  before 
the  expedition  left  St.  Louis.^     Pike,  ambitious  for  the  laurels  of 
exploration,  if  not  those  of  the  battlefield,  and  confident  in  his 
own  well-tried  powers,  eagerly  accepted  the  proffered  mission, 
and  began  preparations  for  his  departure. 

The  inside  history  of  the  life  of  General  James  Wilkinson  dur- 
ing the  year  1806,  if  known  in  its  entirety,  would  form  a  chapter 
surpassing  in  interest  the  most  lurid  passages  in  the  careers  of 
Benedict  Arnold,  Aaron  Burr,  or  other  similar  worthies.  Not 
one  of  the  least  of  the  enigmas  of  his  career  during  this  period  is 
that  presented  by  Pike's  second  journey.  We  have  already  noted 
that  Wilkinson  had  written  to  the  Secretary  of  War  in  August, 
1805,  regarding  the  expeditions  then  being  pursued  under  PeterN 
and  Pike.2  In  view  of  a  later  communication  from  Dearborn  to 
Pike  we  may  take  it  for  granted  that  these  expeditions  were  in  the 
interim,  tacitly,  if  not  openly  approved — certainly  they  were  later. 
Yet  after  the  explorer's  death,  the  General  apparently  lost  favor 
with  his  v^hilom  supporters.  Jefferson  and  Dearborn,  for  on  No- 


1.  See  pag-e  72. 

2.  See  pag-e  92. 


105 


vember  6,  1818,  the  latter  wrote  the  former^  that  'Tike's  expedi- 
tion was  planned  and  directed  entirely  by  General  Wilkinson 
*  *  *  and  no  expedition  was  sent  up  the  Arkansas  under  your 
direction." 

Some  of  the  Osage  chiefs  visited  by  Peter  and  Chouteau  had 
been  prevailed  upon  to  go  to  Washington,  and  had  returned  to 
St.  Louis  on  their  way  to  their  native  habitat.  For  some  reason 
Lieutenant  Peter  does  not  appear  prominently  upon  the  scene,  so 
what  could  be  more  natural  than  to  entrust  the  task  of  their 
further  return  to  the  young  officer  who  had  acquitted  himself  so 
creditnbly  upon  the  Upper  Mississippi.  So  far  everything  ap- 
pears reasonably  straightforward  and  open,  and  Wilkinson's  pub- 
lished instructions  to  Pike,  although  unauthorized  by  Washington 
authorities,  for  the  most  part  do  not  run  counter  to  this  impression. 

The  first  instructions  were  issued  June  24,  1806,*  and  directed 
Pike,  as  his  opening  task,  to  escort  the  returning  Indians  to  the 
lOsage  River.  Having  accomplished  this,  what  was  more  fitting 
than  to  bid  the  man  who  had  brought  about  peace  between  the 
Chippewas  and  the  Sioux,  to  attempt  the  same  with  the  Kansas  \ 
and  the  Osages,  and  to  extend  his  diplomatic  mission  to  include  ' 
conferences  as  well  with  the  Comanches^  some  of  whom  he  should 
try  to  persuade  to  visit  Washington,  It  was  likewise  fitting  that 
the  author  of  a  valuable  geographical  report  upon  the  Upper  Mis- 
sissippi should  be  requested  to  make  similar  observations  uoon 
the  country  watered  by  the  Arkansas  and  Red  Rivera  If  his 
geographical  survey  should  in  a  measure  become  a  militar}  recon- 
naissance of  the  important  Spanish  and  Indian  positions  within 
striking  distance  of  thef  United  States,  this  object  would  not  be 
very  reprehensible,  especially  when  accompanied  by  the  injunc- 
tion, when  near  the  New  Mexican  frontier,  to  keep  clear  of 
Spanish  parties,  and  to  avoid  giving  any  offense. 

Nothing  in  the  above  instructions  would  lead  one  unfamiliar 
with  Wilkinsonian  duplicity  to  suspect  the  young  explorer  or  his^ 
principal ;  nor,  in  later  instructions,^  when  Wilkinson  told.  Pike  ; 


^3.     ^QQ  Jefferson  Papers,  Ser.  2,  Vol.  29,  No.  90. 

4.  Pike,   Account  of  Expeditions,   etc.,    107-109;    Cones,  Pike,    II, 
562-565. 

5.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  565,  56(». 

106 


that  Dr.  J.  H.  Robinson  would  join  the  expedition  as  a  volunteer,! 
and  would  render  medical  services  in  return  for  such  accommoda-/ 
tions  as  the  party  afforded,  would  this  mere  statement  suggest' 
underhand  dealings.     That  Wilkinson  should  take  this  occasion 
to  bid  Pike  arrest  all  unlicensed  traders  found  among  the  Indians, 
was  only  in  keeping  with  the  law  he  was  bound  to  enforce.     That 
he  should  later  warn  him  to  break  up  the  plan  of  a  certain  com- 
pany to  resort  to  the  Pawnees  and  Comanches,  and  through  these  ' 
Indians  to  open  up  a  clandestine  trade  with  Santa  Fe,  might  seem ' 
evidence  of  his  desire  to  remain  on  peacefur terms  with  the  Span- 
iards.®    Up  to  this  point,  then,  the  course  of  Wilkinson  seems  ^ 
frank  and  open  attempt  to  advance,  even  if  without  direct  orders 
from  the  President,  the  latter's  plan  to  explore  the  Louisiana 
Purchase.  ^ 

Although  Wilkinson  succeeded  as  well  as  usual  in  covering  up     \ 
his  crooked  aims,  his  young  subordinate  did  not,  in  this  particular,    J 
give  him  material  aid.     We  have  seen  that  as  early  as  September, 
1805,  Pike  was  ready  to  take  part  in  some  service,  not  stated,  but 
which  may  have  been  explorations  in  the  South- West.''     When 
apologizing  for  the  incomplete  condition  of  his  Mississippi  jour- 
nal, he  urged  in  excuse^  that  he  had  scarcely  returned  from  the 
north  before  his  new  journey  was  proposed  to  him.     Pike  reached 
St.  Louis  April  30;  his  first  formal  instructions  were  not  issued  \ 
until  June  24.     The  interval  may  have  been  employed  in  personal  / 
discussion  of  matters  not  formally  incorporated  in  the  written/ 
directions.     At  least  it  is  certain  that  Spanish  spies  had  an  inkling 


6.  A  less  charitable  assumption  would  be  that  Wilkinson  aimed  at 
self  appropriation,  either  direct  or  indirect,  of  the  profits  of  this  trade. 
In  the  printed  instructions,  the  name  of  the  trading-  company  is  left 
blank.  Dr.  Coues  (Pike,  II,  574)  believed  that  the  leading  spirit  in  this 
company  was  the  Indian  trader,  Manuel  de  lyisa,  but  he  did  not  state 
his  reason  for  this  belief.  A  comparison  of  Wilkinson's  letter  with  the 
Biddle  edition  of  I^ewis  and  Clark  (Coues  edition  III,  1210,  1230),  would 
lead  one  to  infer  that  this  was  the  scheme  of  Captain  Robert  McClellan, 
did  not  that  officer  bear  a  letter  from  Wilkinson  to  the  Indians.  The 
Captain  was  connected  with  the  Baltimore  firm;  Wilkinson  came  orig- 
inally from  Maryland.  It  would  thus  be  easy  to  suggest  a  reason  why 
the  latter  should  oppose  Lisa's  plan.  Cf.  Chittenden,  History  of  the 
American  Fur  Trade,  I,  126. 

7.  See  page  92. 

8.  Coues,  Pike.  I,  273. 

107 


\ 


of  Wilkinson's  extensive,  but  supposedly  secret  plan,  and  had 
communicated  it  to  Captain-General  Salcedo  before  the  Malgares 
expedition  left  New  Mexico  in  the  middle  of  June,  and  that  the 
\  receipt  of  this  information  gave  an  additional  motive  to  the  latter 
expedition.  So  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  Pike  and  Wilkin- 
son had  a  secret  understanding  upon  points  not  mentioned  in  the 
formal  instructions,  and  that  this  understanding  became  known  to 
Spaish  spies.  It  was  probably  this  secret  mission  that  later 
aroused  so  greatly  the  suspicions  of  the  Spaniards  when  Pike 
r.ttempted  to  explain  his  presence  on  the  Rio  Grande,  and  caused 
them  to  suspect  even  Wilkinson's  astronomical  directions.^ 

Pike  had  been  but  a  week  from  St.  Louis  when,  from  La 
Charette,  he  directed  to  Wilkinson  a  letter^^  which  revealed  more 
of  the  true  purpose  of  his  mission  than  the  General  probably  de- 
sired.    In  part  Pike  wrote : 

"With  respect  to  the  Tetans  (Comanches),  the  General  may  rest 
assured,  I  shall  use  every  precaution  previous  to  trusting  them;  but  as 
to  the  mode  of  conduct  to  be  pursued  towards  the  Spaniards,  I  feel  more 
at  a  loss,  as  my  instructions  lead  me  into  the  country  of  the  Tetans, 
part  of  which  is  no  doubt  claimed  by  Spain,  although  the  boundaries 
between  Louisiana  and  New  Mexico,  have  never  yet  been  defined,  in  con- 
sequence of  which,  should  I  encounter  a  party  from  the  villages,  near 
Santa  F^,  I  have  thought  it  would  be  a  good  policy  to  give  them  to 
understand  that  we  were  about  to  join  our  troops  near  Natchitoches, 
but  had  been  uncertain  about  the  headwaters  of  the  rivers  over  which 
we  passed;  but  that  now,  if  the  commandant  approved  of  it,  we  would 
pay  him  a  visit  of  politeness,  either  by  deputation  or  the  whole  party, 
but  if  he  refused,  signify  our  intention  of  pursuing  our  direct  route  to 
the  post  below;  but  if  not  I  flatter  myself,  secure  us  an  unmolested 
retreat  to  the  Natchitoches.  But  if  the  Spanish  jealousy  and  the  insti- 
gation of  domestic  traitorsU  should  induce  them  to  make  us  prisoners 
of  war,  (in  time  of  peace)  I  trust  to  the  magnanimity  of  our  country 
for  our  liberation  and  a  due  reward  to  their  opposers,  for  the  insult  and 
indignity  offered  their  national  honor." 

It  is  somewhat  difficult  to  say  just  what  Pike  meant  by  every 
sentence  of  the  above  extract,  but  the  general  meaning  is  plain 
enough.     Pike's  objective  point  was  Santa  Fe,  and  by  direct  or 


9.     See  Chapter  XIV.     Coues,  Pike,  II,  412. 

10.  Pike,  Account  of  Expedition,  etc.     App.  to  Ft.,  II,  49;   Coues, 
Pike,  II,  570,  571,  Note  6. 

11.  By  "domestic  traitors  "  Pike  probably  refers  to  the  double  deal- 
ing fur  traders  of  St.  Louis  and  vicinity. 

108 


indirect  means  he  was  determined  to  reach  it  and  trust  his  gov- 
ernment to  save  him  from  any  unpleasant  results.  He  would  not 
have  thus  written  so  quickly  and  so  boldly  to  Wilkinson,  if  the 
latter  had  not  given  this  as  the  main  task  of  his  difficult  journey. 

Another  link  in  the  chain  of  evidence  in  favor  of  the  Santa  Fe 
destination  is  afforded  by  the  presence  in  the  party  of  Dr.  John  H. 
Robinson,  the  volunteer  recommended  by  Wilkinson.  In  after 
life  Robinson  was  an  inveterate  enemy  of  Spain,  and  enjoyed  an 
influential  reputation  as  a  filibuster  upon  the  Florida  and  Texas 
frontiers.  His  connection  with  Pike  forms  his  opening  appear- 
ance. He  bore  papers  establishing  the  claim  of  William  Mor- 
rision,  of  Kaskaskia,  Illinois,  against  a  certain  Baptiste  Lalande, 
an  absconding  employe.  Pike  explains  at  length  the  details  of 
the  case,  but  admits  that  Robinson's  demands  ''were  in  some  de- 
gree spurious  in  his  hands,"  and  were  utilized  as  a  ''pretext  for 
Robinson  to  visit  Santa  Fe."  "Our  views,"  Pike  continues,  "were 
to  gain  a  knowledge  of  the  country,  the  prospect  of  trade,  force, 
etc." — in  short,  to  spy  out  the  land;  "while  at  the  same  time  our 
treaties  with  Spain  guaranteed  to  him,  as  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  the  right  of  seeking  the  recovery  of  all  just  debts  or 
demands  before  the  legal  and  authorized  tribunals  of  the  coun- 
try."^2  'j^i^g  claimx  was  in  itself  just  enough,  but  the  time  and 
circumstances  of  its  employment  show  that  it  was  to  serve  as  a 
second  string  to  Wilkinson's  bow  of  intriguing  exploration. 

Enough  has  been  said  to  prove  that  the  main  purpose  of  Pike's 
expedition  was  to  make  a  military  reconnaisance  of  New  Mexico. 
Although  such  a  movement  implied  a  course  of  deception  contrary 
to  private  morality,  it  by  no  means  equalled  the  underhand  system 
of  espionage  that  Spanish  authorities  then  employed  at  Natchi- 
toches, New  Orleans,  St.  Louis,  and  even  at  Washington.  If  the 
motive  that  inspired  this  double  dealing  was  honorable  and  dic- 
tated by  national  policy,  it  would  in  a  measure  justify  those  who 
employed  it  against  their  culpable  rivals.  The  question  of  motive 
then  is  the  next  important  one  to  examine. 

As  far  back  as  the  days  of  Philip  Nolan,  Wilkinson  had  cast 
longing  eyes  toward  the  provinces  of  Mexico.  In  June  and  in 
September,    1805,   Wilkinson   held   long  interviews   with   Aaron 


12.     Coues,  Pike,  II,  497-502. 

109 


Rurr/'^  and  by  the  latter  was  thought  to  be  firmly  resolved  to  take 
part  in  his  Mexican  filibustering  scheme.  In  view  of  this  fact,  his 
letter  of  November  26,  1805,  to  the  Secretary  of  War^^  is  inter- 
esting. He  spoke  of  the  prospect  of  war  with  Spain,  of  conditions 
of  defense  in  New  Orleans  and  vicinity,  favored  the  mounting  of 
all  our  troops  employed  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  added : 

"If  anything-  should  be  done  from  this  quarter  direct  (i.  e.  from  St. 
lyouis),  and  I  might  be  indulged  to  recommend  my  officers,  to  plan  & 
lead  the  expedition,  if  I  do  not  reduce  Mexico  at  least  in  one  campaign, 
I  will  forfeit  my  head." 

On  the  27th  of  the  next  January,  Senator  Adair,  of  Kentucky, 
wrote  Wilkinson ^'^  a  letter  in  which  occurs  the  significant  question  : 
"Pray,  how  far  is  it,  and  what  kind  of  a  way  from  St.  Louis  to 
Santa  Fe,  and  from  thence  to  Mexico?"  The  reply  of  Wilkin- 
son/^ to  a  man  whom  he  then  trusted,  was  equally  significant  and 
explicit : 

*'  Do  you  know  that  I  have  reserved  these  places  for  my  own  trium- 
phal entry,  that  I  have  been  reconnoitering  and  exploring  the  route  for 
sixteen  years;  that  I  not  only  know  the  way,  but  all  the  difficulties  and 
how  to  surmount  them?  I  wish  we  could  get  leave,  Mexico  would  soon 
be  ours." 

Aside  from  customary  exaggeration,  this  reply  well  illustrated 
the  plan  and  purpose  that  the  General  had  in  view.  Pike's  expe- 
dition was  but  another  of  his  "reconnoitering  and  exploring"  at- 
tempts in  the  direction  of  Mexico,  and  one  destined  to  prove  unus- 
ually successful.  In  further  confirmation  of  this  opinion,  it  is 
well  to  note  the  affidavit  of  Judge  Timothy  Kibby,  as  printed  in 
the  Mississippi//^ra/c?,  September  15,  1807:^^ 

*'  The  affidavit  sets  forth— 

*'  'That  in  confidential  conversation  the  General  (Wilkinson)  speak- 
ing- of  Pike's  Expedition,  upon  inquiry,  replied,  smiling,  that  it  was  of 
a  secret  nature  and  that  L/ieutenant  Pike  himself  was  not  apprised  of 
the  ultimate  object  of  the  expedition,  but  that  his  destination  was  Santa 
F^,  treating  with  the  Indians  as  he  advanced. 

**  'He  (Wilkinson)  intimated  that  Ivieutenant  Pike  had  been  des- 
patched by  his  orders^  that  the  plan  was  his  own,  not  emanating  from 
the  Government,  but  assented  to  '  ". 

13.  McCaleb,  The  Aarofi  Burr  Conspiracy,  26,  27,  34. 

14.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  564,  note. 

15.  Wilkinson,  Memoirs,  II,  Ap.,  LXXVII. 

16.  McCaleb,  Aaron  Burr  Conspiracy,  128. 

17.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  lyVI. 

I     no 


The  above  extracts  seem  sufficiently  definite  to  justify  the 
assertion  that  Pike's  expeditions,  both  of  which  were  undertaken 
without  express  orders  from  the  President,  formed  a  part  of 
Wilkinson's  own  private  schemes.  The  question  naturally  arises : 
What  end  were  they  designed  to  serve?  Wilkinson's  interviews 
with  Burr,  supplemented  by  such  portions  of  his  private  corre- 
spondence as  are  available, ^^  seem  to  establish  the  supposition  that 
Pike's  south-western  expedition  was  designed  to  obtain  informa- 
tion for  the  use  of  those  arch  conspirators  in  their  invasion  of 
Mexico.  Wilkinson's  conduct  during  this  fateful  summer  seems 
to  support  this  view.  On  the  6th  of  May,  t8o6,  the  Secretary  of 
War  forwarded  definite  orders  bidding  him  to  repair  without 
delay  to  the  territory  of  Orleans,  and  there  repel  any  invasion  of 
**the  territory  of  the  United  States  east  of  the  River  Sabine  or 
north  or  west  of  the  bounds  of  what  has  been  called  West  Flor- 
ida."^^  These  orders  reached  Wilkinson  by  the  middle  of  June, 
for  on  the  17th  he  wrote  to  a  correspondent:  *T  shall  obey  the 
military  mandate,  for  there  I  look  for  fame  and  honor."^^^  His 
obedience  was  not  prompt,  however,  for  he  delayed  his  departure 
some  two  months,  possibly  for  the  purpose,  as  a  recent  writer 
suggests,^^  of  allowing  Burr  to  develop  his  filibustering  scheme. 
An  additional  reason  for  his  delay  may  be  found  in  the  fact  that 
he  wished  to  see  Pike  safely  started  upon  his  journey,  and  be 
assured  of  a  reasonable  prospect  of  his  success.  In  view  of  his 
own  instructions  to  repair  to  Orleans  territory,  his  word  to  Pike^^ 
to  report  at  Natchitoches,  upon  the  completion  of  his  reconnai- 
sance,  acquires  a  double  meaning. 

Wilkinson  did  not  issue  Pike's  official  instructions  till  June  24, 
several  days  after  receiving  his  own  urgent  orders  to  leave  St. 
Louis  at  once.  Sickness  among  the  Osages  whom  Pike  was  to 
escort  detained  that  officer  till  the  next  month.  On  July  12  Wil- 
kinson issued  additional  instructions,  urging  an  immediate  depar- 

18.  Consult  McCaleb,  The  Aaron  Burr  Conspiracy,  for  a  full  discus- 
sion of  the  relations  of  Burr  with  Wilkinson.  The  writer  errs  however, 
in  implying-  (pages  28,  34)  that  Pike  was  employed  in  the  Southwest  in 
1805,  while  Burr  was  holding-  his  two  conferences  with  "Wilkinson. 

19.  Wilkinson,  Memoirs,  II,  App.y  XC. 

20.  McCaleb,  122. 

21.  Ibid. 

22.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  575. 

Ill 


ture.  Wilkinson  himself  remained  in  St.  Louis  for  some  weeks 
after  his  subordinate  left.  The  final  word  that  he  received  from 
the  latter,  before  leaving  for  the  South,  was  probably  the  letter  of 
July  26,^^'  written  near  the  mouth  of  the  Osage.  In  this  Pike 
stated  that  there  was  a  very  low  stage  of  water  in  the  Osage,  and 
that  his  party  had  poor  prospect  of  ascending  the  river  more  than 
sixty  miles.  Wilkinson  may  then  have  concluded  that  Pike  could 
not  complete  his  reconnaisance  in  time  for  effective  use,  if  at  all, 
and  accordingly  he  may  have  determined  to  obey  the  neglected 
orders  from  Washington.  His  delay  allowed  the  Spaniards  to 
preoccupy,  during  July  and  August,  the  disputed  strip  of  territory 
east  of  the  Sabine.  It  likewise  caused  Jefferson  later  to  review 
his  conduct  in  a  cabinet  meeting,  but  resulted  in  no  action.^* 

It  was  high  time,  therefore,  for  him  to  attend  to  his  own  post- 
poned duties,  but  he  gave  his  faithful  subordinate  final  instruc- 
tions^^ concerning  his  relations .  with  Indians  and  traders.  He 
coupled  these  with  a  more  explicit  warning  to  be  circumspect  and 
discreet,  while  in  the  vicinity  of  wSpanish  settlements,  "as  you/ 
will  be  held  responsible  for  consequences."^^  The  General  then 
continued : 

"By  the  return  of  the  bearer  you  may  open  your  correspondence 
with  the  Secretary  of  War,  [General  Dearborn];  but  I  would  caution 
you  agfainst  anticipating^a  step  before  you,  for  fear  of  deceptions  and 
disappointments.  To  me,  you  may  and  must,  write  full  and  freely,  not 
only  g-iving-  a  minute  detail  of  everything-  past,  worthy  of  note,  but 
also  of  your  prospects  and  the  conduct  of  the  Indians.  If  you  discover 
that  any  tricks  have  been  played  from  St.  I^ouis,  you  will  g-ive  them  to 
me  with  names,  and  must  not  fail  to  g-ive  particulars  to  the  Secretary  of 
War,  with  names,  to  warn  him  against  improper  confidence  and  decep- 
tion. Inclose  your  dispatch  for  me  to  Colonel  [T]  Hunt  and  it  will 
follow  me  by  a  party  which  I  have  [left]  for  the  purpose.  It  is  interest- 
ing to  you  to  reach  Natchitoches  in  season  to  be  at  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment pending  the  session  of  Congress;  yet  you  must  not  sacrifice  anj"^ 
essential  object  to  this  point.  Should  fortune  favor  you  on  your 
present  excursion,  your  importance  to  our  country  will,  I  think,  make 
your  future  life  comfortable." 

23.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  573. 

24.  Adams,  History  of  the  United  States,  III,  279,  280. 

25.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  573-576. 

26.  This  warning  would  imply  that  Wilkinson  had  become  doubtful 
about  hostilities  arising  with  Spain  in  proper  season  for  his  plans  and 
was  determined  not  to  allow  his  subordinate,  by  rash  actions,  to  involve 
him  in  any  responsibility  for  a  border  warfare.  The  suggestion  arises 
that  by  this  time  he  had  determined  to  abandon  his  complot  with  Burr. 

112 


The  above  is  significant  because  of  a  number  of  expressions 
that  are  suggestive  but  not  clearly  explicable.  What  was  the 
"step"  which  Pike  was  cautioned  not  to  "anticipate  ?"  What  were 
the  ''prospects"  that  he  was  to  report  ''in  minute  detail"  to  the 
General,  but  not  to  the  Secretary  ?  Were  the  "tricks  played  from 
St.  Louis"  the  reports  by  Spanish  spies  of  Pike's  real  mission; 
and  if  these  reports  reached  Washington,  would  it  per- 
chance be  awkward  for  Wilkinson  to  have  the  Secretary  of  War 
believe  them?  Was  his  suggestion  to  attempt  to  be  in  Washing- 
ton during  the  next  session  of  Congress  simply  a  piece  of  worldly 
advice  to  cultivate  governmental  influence,  and  possibly  supplant 
Lewis  and  Ciark  in  public  favor,  or  did  it  have  in  view  the  neces- 
sity of  counteracting  ugly  suspicions?  What  were  the  "essen- 
tial objects"  that  must  not  be  sacrificed  to  gain  this  point?  By  his 
parting  suggestion,  did  Wilkinson  still  hope  for  a  successful  issue 
to  Pike's  mission,  or  was  he  merely  stimulating  him  to  do  his  best, 
despite  apparently  overwhelming  obstacles  ?  The  career  of  James 
Wilkinson  will  justify  all  sorts  of  suspicious  questions  about  what 
are  apparently  the  most  frank  and  simple  statements.  We  may, 
with  the  utmost  assurance,  draw  the  conclusion  that  Wilkinson 
had  a  personal  motive  in  sending  Pike  to  the  westward,  and  that 
his  motive  arose  from  his  complot  with  Aaron  Burr.  A  more 
interesting  point  to  determine  is  whether  Pike  knew  of  this  motive 
of  his  chief. 

At  the  very  outset  we  may  assume  that  Pike  knew  he  was  to 
act  as  a  spy  upon  Spanish  territory.  His  own  letters  reveal  this 
only  too  plainly.  From  a  national  point  of  view  he  would  be 
justified  in  assuming  this  role,  and  his  own  words  do  not  show  that 
he  cherished  any  other  idea  of  his  main  purpose.  Later,  in  the 
preface  to  his  book,^'''  he  indignantly  repelled  the  insinuation  that 
his  expedition  was  undertaken  to  further  any  sinister  end  of 
Wilkinson's,  or  that  it  had  any  connection  with  Burr's  conspiracy. 
One  who  is  familiar  with  Wilkinson's  duplicity  is  only  too  readv 
to  believe  that  the  young  officer  protests  too  much.  When,  in  the 
course  of  his  Mexican  tour.  Pike  learned  of  the  exaggerated 
rumors,  published  in  the  Mexican  Gaceta,  of  Burr's  conspiracy 
and  of  the  suspicions  aroused  against  Wilkinson,  he  may,  for  the 

27.     Pike,  Account,  etc.,  Introduction  (5). 

113 


first  time  have  realized  what  sort  of  a  construction  the  Spanish 
authorities  placed  upon  his  own  expedition.^^  That  the  Spaniards 
were  not  the  only  ones  so  to  interpret  Pike's  movements  is  shown 
in  a  book  of  travels^^  published  contemporaneously  with  his  own ; 
and  by  certain  remarks  in  Congress  which  drew  from  him  the  fol- 
lowing rejoinder,  dated  February  22.  1808,  and  directed  to  Secre- 
tary Dearborn  :^^ 

"The  Honorable  John  Rowan  of  the  House  of  Representatives  from 
Kentucky  has  this  day  made  some  observations  before  that  Honorable 
body  from  which  a  tacit  inference  might  be  drawn  that  my  late  tour  to 
the  Westward  was  founded  upon  views  entirely  unknown  to  the  g-overn- 
ment;  and  connected  with  the  nefarious  plans  of  Aaron  Burr  and  his 
associates.  Had  those  insinuations  arisen  in  any  other  quarter  I  should 
have  conceived  that  my  early  choice  of  the  military  life,  the  many 
arduous  and  confidential  duties  I  have  performed,  with  the  perfect 
knowledge  which  the  Government  must  have  of  my  military  and  polit- 
ical Character;  would  have  been  sufficient  justification  for  me  to  have 
passed  over  them  in  silence;  but  coming-  from  so  respectable  a  source,  I 
feel  it  a  duty  to  myself;  my  family;  and  my  profession;  to  request  of 
you  a  testimonial  which  may  shut  the  mouth  of  Calumny— and  strike 
dumb  the  voice  of  slander." 

In  answer  to  this  request  for  a  testimonial  to  be  used  upon 
members  of  Congress  or  to  be  given  to  the  public,  as  the  }'Oung 
Captain  (for  such  Pike  had  become  on  his  second  journey)  might 
determine.  Dearborn  two  days  later  replied  r"^ 

*'I  with  pleasure  observe  that  althoug-h  the  two  exploring- expedi- 
tions you  have  performed  were  not  previously  ordered  by  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  there  were  frequent  communications  on  the  sub- 
ject of  each  between  General  Wilkinson  and  this  Department  of  which 
the  President  of  the  United  States  was  acquainted  from  time  to  time, 
and  it  will  be  no  more  than  what  justice  requires  to  say  that  your  con- 
duct in  each  of  these  expeditions  met  the  approbation  of  the  President; 
— and  you  may  rest  assured  that  your  services  are  held  in  high  estima- 
tion by  the  President  of  the  United  States;  and  if  opinion  of  my  own 
can  afford  you  any  satisfaction,  I  can  very  frankly  declare  that  I  con- 
sider the  public  very  much  indebted  to  you  for  the  enterprising  and 
judicious  manner  in  which  you  have  performed  them." 

This  communication  officially  exculpated  Pike,  but  in  no  sense 


28.  Coues,   Pike,  II,  500,  652,  836. 

29.  Christian  Schultz,  Jr.,    Travels  on  Inland  Voyage,  etc.,  II,  154. 
N.  Y.,  1810. 

30.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  lyVI. 

31.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  IvVII. 

114 


cleared  Wilkinson,  whose  shady  reputation  so  seriously  compro- 
mised that  of  his  subordinate  and  of  every  one  else  who  ever  had 
intimate  dealings  with  him.  However,  a  careful  perusal  of  Pike's 
writings  in  connection  with  other  available  data^  can  hardly  fail 
to  establish  the  opinion  that  he  was  guilty  of  nothing  more  than  a 
sincere  friendship  for  the  man  who  had  given  him  his  opportunity 
for  advancement ;  that  he  was  the  unwitting  agent  of  the  latter  in 
a  certain  filibustering  scheme,  which,  because  of  Wilkinson's  offi- 
cial station,  involved  a  serious  demeanor,  if  it  did  not  border  upon 
actual  treason;  and  that  in  pursuit  of  this  scheme  he  assumed  a 
policy  of  deception,  reprehensible  from  the  standpoint  of  personal 
morality  and  international  courtesy,  but  justifiable  in  view  of  the 
equivocal  dealings  of  contemporary  Spanish  colonial  authorities. 
Pike's  course  throughout,  with  this  one  exception,  was  heroic,  and 
judged  by  the  times  and  circumstances,  sincerely  patriotic.  His 
subsequent  career  would  belie  any  other  interpretation. 


115 


CHAPTER  XII. 

OPENING  THE  SANTA  PE)  TRAIL. 

In  the  region  upon  which  Pike  was  about  to  enter  he  had  been 
preceded  by  scattered  Spanish  and  French  explorers,  and  more 
immediately  by  representative  fellow-countrymen, whose  careers 
illustrated  the  fact  that  the  westward  movement  did  not  await  the 
ambitions  of  generals  or  of  presidents.  The  departure  of  these 
men  from  the  country  of  their  birth,  or  adoption,  was  noted 
only  in  the  books  of  some  obscure  fur-trader,  and  in  a  few  in- 
stances only  have  their  names  even  been  recorded  by  the  special 
historian ;  but  they  were  objects  of  unwelcome  solicitude  in  their 
new  country,  and  in  a  wholly  unconscious  measure  they  doubtless 
added  to  the  feeling  of  bitterness  with  which  the  authorities  of  the 
Internal  Provinces  regarded  Pike. 

In  July,  1805,  Captain-General  Salcedo  learned  from  the  gov- 
ernor of  New  Mexico^  that  the  Cuampa  Indians  (Comanches?) 
had  brought  to  Santa  Fe  two  Frenchmen  and  an  American,  whom 
they  had  found  near  the  River  Chato  (Platte?).  According  to 
Salcedo's  summary,  all  three  reported  themselves  to  be  the  em- 
ployees of  a  certain  Lauselle  (Loisel  or  Louiselle)  who  had 
erected  a  fort  called  "de  la  Cuesta  Azul"'  (Hterally  "of  the  Blue 
Mount"),  among  the  tribes  on  the  Missouri,^  and  who  had  sent 
them  to  trap  beaver.  They  had  been  captured  by  the  Cayguas 
(Kiowas),  and  by  them  turned  over  to  the  Cuampas  (Co- 
manches?), who  in  turn  had  brought  them  into  New  Mexico. 
Salcedo  advised  the  governor  to  detain  them,  and  give  them  some- 
thing to  do.  At  the  same  time  he  should  make  peace  with  the 
Indians,  and  endeavor  to  keep  them  from  trading  with  these 
American  and  French  trappers. 

We  are  not  told  the  names  of  these  involuntary  additions  to 


1.  Salcedo  to  Gov.  of  N.  Mex.,  July  19, 1805.   New  Mexico  Archives. 

2.  The  fort  was  situated  upon  Cedar  Island,  in  the  Missouri,  below 
White  River,  Presho  County,  S.  D.,  and  was  occupied  by  lyouiselle  and 
party  as  early  as  the  winter  of  1803-04.  (Thwaites,  Orig.  Jour.,  Lewis 
and  Clark,  I,  160). 

116 


the  New  Mexican  population,  but  from  the  similarity  of  the 
Indians  involved,  we  may  hazard  the  surmise  that  the  American 
was  James  Pursley.  Pike  is  our  authority  for  the  details  of  Purs- 
ley's  journey  before  reaching  Santa  Fe.  ^  This  pioneer  was  born 
in  Bardstown,  Kentucky,  but  left  his  native  town  in  1799.  In 
1802  he  left  St.  Louis  for  a  year's  hunt  on  the  Osage.  While 
returning  to  St.  Louis,  after  a  variety  of  adventures  and  misfor- 
tunes, Pursley  met  a  trader  (probably  Louiselle),  bound  up  the 
Missouri,  and  embarked  with  him.  With  some  companions 
( nationality  not  stated,  but  very  likely  French),  Pursley 's  em- 
ployer sent  him,  with  a  small  stock  of  merchandise,  to  trade  among 
the  Kiowas  and  Padoucas  (Comanches).  In  the  spring  of  1805 
these  Indians  were  driven  by  the  Sioux  to  the  mountains  in  which 
the  Platte  and  Arkansas  rise,  and  here  Pursley  claimed  to  have 
discovered  gold.  Knowing  that  they  were  near  New  Mexico,  the 
Indians,  in  June,  sent  Pursley  and  his  companions  to  Santa  Fe  to 
learn  if  the  Spaniards  would  trade  with  them.  Governor  Allen- 
caster's  reply  was  favorable,  but  Pursley  preferred  to  remain 
among  the  Spaniards,  rather  than  return  to  the  savages.  Here 
he  was  when  Pike  visited  Santa  Fe,  making  money  at  the  car- 
penter's trade,  but  restive  under  the  conditions  imposed  upon  him 
and  longing  for  the  country  with  which  he  was  forbidden  to  com- 
municate ;  and  here  he  apparently  remained  for  nineteen  years.* 

On  the  9th  of  September,  1805,  there  presented  themselves 
before  Salcedo,  in  Chihuahua,  two  Frenchmen  from  Illinois, 
named  Juan  Bautista  (Jean  Baptiste)  Lalande  and  Lorenzo 
Durocher.^  These  individuals  had  been  sent  forward  to  His  Ex- 
cellency b}^  the  same  governor,  in  order  that  he  might  pass  upon 
their  petitions  to  become  citizens  of  New  Mexico.  After  an 
examination  which  convinced  him  of  the  "integrity  and  sincerity" 
of  their  motives,  he  sent  them  back  to  Allencaster  for  final  deter- 
mination, at  the  same  time  giving  him  discretion  to  act  in  applica- 
tions of  this  sort.  We  do  not  have  Lalande's  petition  before  us, 
but  we  wonder  what  arguments  he  used  to  convince  Salcedo  of  his 


3.  Coues,  PikCy  II,  756-758. 

4.  Cf.  Chittenden,  Fur  Trade,  II,  493,  note  1. 

5.  Salcedo  to  Governor  of   N.  Max.,  Sept.  9,  1805.     New  Mexico 
Archives. 


117 


integrity ;  for  he  was  tlie  man  sent  by  William  Morrison,  of  Kas- 
kaskia,  in  1804,  on  a  trading  expedition  to  Santa  Fe;  and  whose 
failure  to  account,  either  in  person  or  by  remittance,  for  the  goods 
entrusted  to  him,  constituted  the  basis  of  the  claim  which  Pike 
later  used,  through  Robinson,  to  obtain  an  entrance  into  that  city.^ 

Lalande  passed  up  the  Missouri  and  Platte,  and  sent  forward 
Indian  emissaries  to  Santa  Fe.  These  returned  with  some  mer- 
chants to  conduct  him  to  that  town,  where  conditions  of  life  ap- 
peared so  attractive  that  he  determined  to  remain.  His  former 
employer,  Morrison,  in  the  vain  hope  that  Pike,  in  his  explorations 
on  the  Red  River,  might  fall  in  with  some  Spanish  merchants  with 
whom  he  could  negotiate  his  claim  on  Lalande,  empowered  Pike 
to  collect  the  debt.  This  fact  afforded  a  very  convenient  pretext 
for  visiting  Santa  Fe,  and  Robinson  was  selected  as  the  agent  to 
make  use  of  it,  when  the  occasion  later  presented  itself. 

Lalande  and  his  companion,  Durocher,  who,  by  the  way,  is 
never  mentioned  in  the  American  accounts,  were  apparently  well 
received  by  the  New  Mexican  authorities,  although  they  appear 
to  have  suffered  a  certain  amount  of  espionage.  Some  months 
after  their  reception,  Governor  Allencaster  registered  a  formal 
complaint  against  them.'''  It  appears  that  they  accompanied  the 
unsuccessful  expedition  of  Lucero  and  Vidal  to  the  Pawnees.^  In 
the  course  of  their  journey  they  drew  some  unfavorable  compari- 
sons between  the  Spanish  and  the  American  Indian  trade,  and 
asserted  that  the  Spaniards  would  never  become  successful  rivals 
of  the  Americans,  because  they  could  not  pay  their  trappers  and 
interpreters  enough.  They  themselves  were  dissatisfied  with  the 
meagre  ten  pesos  a  month  which  they  earned  in  New  Mexico,  and 
contrasted  it  with  the  twentv-five  dollars  which  they  had  formerly 
received  from  the  Americans.  The  governor  wrote  that  after  the 
cordial  reception  given  these  two  Frenchmen,  such  talk  savored 
of  base  mgratitude.  Fie  believed  that  they  desired  to  return  to  the 
United  States,  but  that  they  and  the  two  Frenchmen  a\id  Ameri- 
can brought  in  by  the  Cuampas  (Comanches)  should  not  be  per- 
mitted to  do  so,,  because  they  now  knew  the  province  so  well  that 
they  might  be  able  to  do  great  future  damage. 


6.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  500-502. 

7.  Allencaster  to  Salcedo,  Jan.  4,  1806.     A^ezv  Mexico  Archives. 

8.  See  pag-es  65  and  66. 

118 


Lalande,  then,  apparently  did  not  prosper  because  of  his  dis- 
honest change  of  nationahty.  When  Robinson  later  appeared  in 
Santa  Fe  and  presented  his  claim,  the  Governor  reported  that  La- 
lande possessed  no  property.^  Lalande,  when  attempting  to  sound 
Pike,  himself  told  the  latter  that  he  had  been  for  three  years  a 
prisoner  in  the  country,  and  could  not  get  out.^*^  It  is  likely  that 
there  was  more  truth  than  fiction  in  both  statements.  At  best  any 
one  coming  from  the  United  States  would  be  regarded  with  sus- 
picion, while  there  was  hardly  any  Hmit  to  the  barbarity  of  Spanish 
treatment  toward  those  whom  they  received  with  hostile  intent.*^ 
Accordingly,  when  later  in  1806,  these  were  joined  by  three  more 
Frenchmen  from  Louisiana,  or  possibly  by  two  Frenchmen  and  an 
American  named  Nicolas  Cole,  captured  among  the  Pawnees,  the 
ordinary  living  and  traveling  expenses  of  these  semi-prisoners, 
even  at  the  modest  sum  of  two  reales  (25  cents)  a  day,  threatened 
to  become  a  serious  burden,  to  say  nothing  of  what  it  suggested 
of  future  unlawful  irruptions.^^  Under  these  circumstances  we 
m.ay  imagine  with  what  feelings  the  officials  upon  the  threatened 
border  made  ready  to  receive  our  young  lieutenant,  at  the  head  of 
a  small  detail  of  the  American  army,  engaged  in  some  uncertain 
mission  for  its  commander-in-chief,  whom  they  knew  as  a  former 
discredited  and  despised  Spanish  pensioner. 

On  the  afternoon  of  July  15,  1806,  the  South- Western  Expe- 
dition of  Pike  began  at  Bellefontaine  Landing,  near  St.  Louis. 
The  personnel  of  the  expedition  was  composed  of  two  lieutenants 
^^  ^  (Pike  and  James  B.  WilliMmnon^  son  of  the  General),  one  surgeon 
(John  H.  Robinson,  a  volunteer),  one  sergeant  (William  Meek), 
two  corporals,  sixteen  privates,  and  one  interpreter,  a  total  of 
twenty-three  whites.  They  were  accompanied  by  fifty-one 
savages  returning  to  their  homes  on  the  Osage  and  Republican 
rivers.^"^     The  details  of  Pike's  journey  need  not  detain  us  long. 


9.     Coues,  Pi,'ce,  II,  624. 

10.  Ibid,  601. 

11.  Witness  the  treatment  of  Nolan's  men;  the  imprisonment  of 
McKnight  and  of  others;  and  the  confiscations  suffered  by  Chouteau 
and  De  Mun. 

12.  New  Mexico  Archives,  Sept.  1;  Oct.  8,  1806.  The  records  do  not 
make  it  certain  whether  one  or  two  parties  are  meant. 

13.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  358-360. 

119 


Manuel  de  Lisa,  the  fur-trader,  attempted  to  detain  the  expedition 
by  arresting:  its  interpreter  for  debt.  From  La  Charette  Pike, 
on  July  22,  directed  his  famous  letter  outlining  his  plan  to  reach 
Santa  Fe.  On  the  28th,  they  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Osage,  up 
which  they  were  to  proceed,  but  of  which  they  received  report  that 
the  stage  of  water  was  discouragingly  low.^'*  August  16  they 
passed  the  site  where  Pierre  Chouteau  had  formerly  erected  Fort 
Carondelet,  of  which  no  vestige  remained.  Two  days  before  Pike 
had  sent  to  Wilkinson  a  report^^  that  the  Little  Osages  were  on 
the  warpath  against  the  Kansas,  and  that  the  Grand  Osages  were 
beginning  hostilities  against  the  whites  on  the  Arkansas.  To 
Manuel  de  Lisa,  Pike  ascribed  the  responsibility  for  the  action  of 
the  Little  Osages,  while  he  seemed  to  feel  that  the  whole  incident 
showed  how  little  dependence  could  be  placed  upon  Indian,  and 
particularly  Osage,  friendship,  despite  the  exertions  of  Chouteau 
the  previous  year.  The  event  also  made  him  more  determined  to 
carry  out  the  General's  warning  against  Lisa's  trading  venture, 
when,  a  few  days  later,  he  met  three  of  his  hunters  without  a  pass- 
port.i« 

On  August  19  the  expedition  was  received  at  the  Grand  Osage 
village  by  White  Hairs  and  his  people.  On  the  21st  the  Americans 
held  with  representatives  of  the  Great  and  Little  Osages  a  con- 
ference, at  which  Pike  presented  medals  and  other  trinkets,  and 
made  a  request  for  horses  and  Indians  to  accompany  him  to  the 
Pawnees  and  Kansas,  and  perhaps  further  on  his  proposed  jour- 
ney. Pike  found  that  the  Indians  were  not  very  quick  to  respond, 
a  fact  which  caused  him  again  to  suspect  Lisa's  underhand  influ- 
ence ;  nor,  at  first,  could  he  get  the  regular  government  interpreter, 
despite  Wilkinson's  explicit  orders,  to  agree  to  accompany  him  to 
the  Pawnees.  The  Osage  chiefs  appeared  to  lack  authority,  owing 
to  a  schism  in  their  people  some  twelve  years  before.  This  schism 
had  been  effected  by  Pierre  Chouteau,  because  his  rival,  Lisa,  had 
secured  from  the  Spanish  government  the  exclusive  privilege  of 
trading  up  the  Osage  River,  after  the  Chouteau  family  had  enjoyed 
it  for  a  score  of  years.  This  schism  had  brought  into  being  a  new 
group  on  the  Arkansas,  made  up  of  the  vounger.  more  lawless 

14.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  573. 

15.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  576-577. 

16.  For  details  of  the  journey;  Cf.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  357-387. 


elements.  It  was  this  group  that  had  interfered  with  Jefferson's 
plan  to  explore  the  Arkansas  and  Red.^''^  After  chafing  under 
these  unfavorable  conditions  for  more  than  a  week,  and  returning 
once  after  starting,  owing  to  the  arrival  of  the  trader,  C.  Chou- 
teau, Pike,  with  twenty-three  whites  and  goodly  Osage  delega- 
tions, set  out  with  his  three  Pawnees  for  the  latter's  country. 

Pike's  journey  over  the  plains  of  Kansas  was  of  no  particular 
interest.  The  leader's  greatest  care  seemed  to  be  to  keep  together 
his  savage  allies,  whom  he  generally  styled  "a  faithless  set  of  pol- 
troons." On  September  22,  a  Pawnee  hunter  doubtless  caused 
Pike's  heart  to  beat  faster  in  thought  of  the  possibility  of  a  border 
war,  by  telling  him  that  a  party  of  three  hundred  Spaniards,  for 
some  unknown  reason  had  lately  advanced  as  far  as  the  Sabine. 
The  same  hunter  also  spoke  of  the  hostilities  between  the 
Comanches,  Pawnees,  and  Kansas,  thus  showing  additional  diffi- 
culties in  the  path  of  his  Indian  negotiations.  Two  days  later 
they  began  to  encounter  numerous  Pawnees,  and  on  the  following 
day  struck  the  trail  made  by  Malgares  on  its  return,  the  grass 
being  still  beaten  down  in  the  pathway.  On  this  same  day  they 
arrived  near  the  Pawnee  villages,  where  the  leader  with  his  white 
and  Indian  companions  met  with  an  elaborate  reception,  after 
which  the  main  party,  under  Lieutenant  Wilkinson,  passed  on 
above  the  village  and  encamped  upon  the  Republican  River.  Pike 
devoted  himself  to  a  chief  who  gave  him  particulars  concerning 
the  recent  visit  of  the  Spaniards  under  Malgares.^^ 

As  a  result  of  this  visit  Pike,  at  the  time  of  his  entrance  into 
this  village,  found  both  Spanish  and  American  flags  flying  in  salu- 
tation. This  was  in  itself  a  sign  that  a  difficult  negotiation  was 
before  him.  On  October  28  Pike  held  a  council  with  a  few  of  the 
Kansas  and  Osages,  and  forced  these  enemies  to  smoke  the  pipe 
of  peace,  although  he  was  uncertain  how  permanent  this  friendship 
would  prove.  The  Kansas  also  promised  to  send  two  of  their 
tribe  to  accompany  the  party,  either  down  the  Arkansas  or  Red; 
but  as  usual  they  failed  to  come  up  to  their  agreement.^'^ 

17.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  388,  392,  529,  530,  572-582.     See  also  Chapter  IV. 

18.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  393-410.  This  village  of  the  Pawnee  Republi- 
cans— so-called — was  on  the  Republican  River  near  the  present  Kansas- 
Nebraska  boundarj\ 

19.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  414,  584,  585. 

121 


The  grand  council  with  the  Pawnees  occurred  on  September 
29,  and  afforded  one  incident  indicative  of  Pike's  determination 
and  diplomacy.  The  Spanish  flag  was  still  flying  in  front  of  the 
tent  where  the  council  was  being  held.  Among  other  demands, 
Pike  stated  that  this  Spanish  flag  should  be  given  up  and  an 
American  one  run  up  in  its  place.  At  first  no  response  was  made 
to  this  rather  audacious  proposal,  but  Pike  repeated  it  with  greater 
insistence.  Finally  one  of  the  old  chiefs  complied  with  his  de- 
mand, to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  Kansas  and  Osage  present, 
but  with  the  disfavor  of  all  the  Pawnees.  Perceiving  this,  and 
apprehensive  that  his  action  might  cause  them  some  difficulty  with 
the  Spaniards,  should  the  latter  return,  Pike  gave  back  the  Span^ 
ish  standard,  upon  condition  that  it  should  not  again  be  displayed 
during  the  stay  of  the  Americans.  This  apparently  mollified  the 
savages,  although  it  did  not  make  them  any  more  willing  to  aid 
the  American  officer  in  his  explorations.^^ 

At  this  conference  Pike  distributed  medals,  presents  and  mer- 
chandise as  a  preliminary  move  to  the  requests  that  he  made.  He 
wished  horses,  an  interpreter  familiar  with  the  Pawnee  and 
Comanche  dialects,  and  some  volunteers  to  accompany  the  expedi- 
tion and  then  to  visit  Washington.  After  some  days  of  anxious 
waiting.  Pike  learned  that  the  Pawnees  not  only  refused  his  re- 
quests, but  that  they  threatened  to  prevent  the  further  progress  of 
the  party.  The  Indians  claimed  that  they  had  induced  the  Span- 
iards to  forbear  marching  nearer  the  Missouri,  and  that  in  return 
for  this  concession,  they  promised  to  prevent  Pike's  party  from 
passing  beyond  their  villages.  The  occasion  was  one  for  prompt 
decision,  in  which  our  young  lieutenant  was  not  lacking. 

After  detailing  to  the  Pawnee  chief  the  purpose  for  which  he 
had  been  sent  and  what  he  had  already  accomplished,  Pike  stated 
in  his  interview  that:^^ 

*'He  must  know  that  the  young'  warriors  of  his  great  American 
father  were  not  women,  to  be  turned  back  by  words:  that  I  should  there- 
for proceed,  and  if  he  thoug-ht  proper  to  stop  me,  he  could  attempt  it; 
but  we  were  men,  well  armed  and  would  sell  our  lives  at  a  dear  rate  to 
his  nation:  that  we  knew  our  great  father  would  send  his  young 
warriors  there  to  g-ather  our  bones  and  reveng-e  our  deaths  on  his  people, 
when  our  spirits  would  rejoice  in  hearing-  our  exploits  sung-  in  the.  war- 
songs  of  our  chiefs." 

20.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  415,  587. 

21.  Coues.  Pike,  II,  417. 

122 


This  exhibition  of  American  courage  apparently  outweighed 
the  obligations  of  a  promise  half-heartedly  given  to  the  Spaniards, 
for  the  chief  simply  said  that  it  was  a  pity,  and  remained  silent.^^ 
However,  the  Pawnees  did  make  it  difficult  for  Pike  to  procure 
horses  to  transport  his  baggage,  and  their  opposition  prevented 
Kansas  Indians  from  accompanying  him.  As  hostilities  were  then 
existing  between  the  Pawnees  and  Comanches,  Pike  could  not 
hope  to  reach  the  latter  through  the  former.  This  was  a  disap- 
pointment, for  he  understood  that  the  Comanches  were  then  at 
war  with  the  Spaniards,  and  believed  that  he  could  make  favorable 
terms  with  tliem^  if  he  could  reach  them  and  maikc  them  under- 
stand his  message.  Notwithstanding  the  difficulties  in  the  way, 
he  determined  to  press  into  their  country  and  do  the  best  possible.^^ 

It  was  on  October  4  that  the  arrival  of  two  French  traders 
gave  him  the  information  of  the  safe  arrival  of  Lewis  and  Clark 
at  St.  Louis,  and  afforded  an  additional  incentive  to  make  his  own 
journey  a  success.  Apropos  of  his  main  purpose  and  significant 
of  the  future  highway  to  the  South-West,  he  wrote  General 
Wilkinson^*  (not  the  Secretary  of  War,  to  whom,  upon  Wilkin- 
son's advice,  he  also  wrote)  that: 

"Any  number  of  men  who  may  be  reasonably  calculated  on  would  find 
no  difficulty  in  marching-  by  the  route  he  came,  with  bag^g-ag-e,  wagons, 
field  artillery  and  all  the  usual  appendages  of  a  small  army;  and  if  all 
the  route  to  Santa  F6  should  be  of  the  same  description,  in  case  of  war, 
I  would  pledge  my  life,  and  what  is  infinitely  dearer,  my  honor  for  the 
successful  march  of  a  reasonable  body  of  troops  into  the  province  of 
New  Mexico." 

The  threatened  opposition  of  the  Pawnees  made  Pike's  denar- 
ture  from  their  vicinity,  on  October  7,  an  occasion  of  more  than 
ordinary  interest.  However,  nothing  more  serious  occurred  than 
the  stealing  of  horses  (soon  returned),  after  which  the  little  party 
of  twenty-six,  including  four  Osages,  took  up  its  march  for  the 
Arkansas.  They  followed  the  trace  made  by  Malgares'  party  on 
its  return,  and  in  doing  so  Pike  and  Robinson  became  separated 
from  the  main  party,  and  did  not  reach  the  Arkansas  till  the  i8th 
of  October,  three  days  after  the  others.  After  a  few  days  spent 
in  the  construction  of  canoes  Lieutenant  Wilkinson,  Sergeant  Bal- 
lenger,  and  four  privates,  and  the  Osages  started,  on  the  28th,  to 
make  the  descent  of  the  Arkansas,  while  Pike,  Robinson,  and 
fotirteen  others  turned  their  faces  toward  the  mountains. 

*  22.  Ibid,  587. 

23.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  587-588. 

24.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  418,  588. 

25.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  418-432. 

123 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

PIKE  ON  THE  MEXICAN  BORDER. 

In  the  letter  sent  General  Wilkinson^  by  his  son,  Pike  stated 
that  Robinson  was  sanguine  of  the  success  of  the  expedition,  and 
that  he,  as  leader,  would  exert  himself  *'so  far  as  lies  in  the  com- 
pass of  human  exertions,"  but  he  said  nothing  about  reaching  New 
Mexico.  Rather,  he  sought  to  excuse  the  expense  of  the  expedi- 
tion up  to  this  point,  and  to  compare  his  task  and  the  results  with 
the  work  of  Lewis  and  Clark.  Perhaps  he  realized  that  his  little 
party  was  not  really  in  condition  for  such  a  mountain  journey 
as  was  still  before  them,  and  that  with  the  advance  of  the 
season  he  might  be  compelled  to  give  up  his  New  Mexican  recon- 
naisance  and  be  content  with  the  rewards  of  the  ordinary  explorer. 
His  proposed  itinerary  now  was  to  ascend  the  Arkansas  till  he 
reached  the  mountains  or  found  the  Comanches.  Thence  he 
should  pass  to  the  head  of  the  Red  River,  "where  we  shall  be  de- 
tained some  time;"^  after  which  he  should  proceed  as  quickly  as 
possible  to  Natchitoches. 

Wholly  undaunted  by  the  fact  that  the  clothing  and  provisions 
for  his  men  were  wholly  inadequate  for  a  winter  journey  in  the 
Rockies,  Pike  started  to  trace  the  Arkansas  to  the  mountain  bar- 
rier, which  he  afterwards  described  as  the  natural  boundary  be- 
tween Louisiana  and  New  Mexico.  On  November  15,  within  the 
limits  of  the  present  state  of  Colorado,  the  leader  got  the  first 
glimpse  of  the  "Mexican  Mountains."  A  week  later  he  and  his 
companions  encountered  a  war  party  of  Pawnees,  returning  from 
an  unsuccessful  foray  against  the  Comanches,  and  endured  an 
uncomfortable,  if  not  quite  dangerous,  interview.  On  the  24th, 
upon  the  site  of  the  modern  city  of  Pueblo,  they  constructed  what 
was  probably  the  first  American  structure  within  the  State  of  Col- 
orado.    During  the  latter  part  of  the  month  Pike  and  a  few  com- 

1.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  589-594. 

2.  This  mig-ht  mean  to  prepare  canoes  for  the  descent,  or  to  spy  out 
the  neig-hboring-  territory. 

124 


panions  made  a  fruitless  excursion  in  the  direction  of  the  peak 
that  now  bears  his  name,  but  returned,  stating  his  belief  that  no 
human  foot  could  ascend  its  *'pinical."*'^ 

For  the  next  two  and  a  half  months  Pike,  in  his  travels  along 
the  headwaters  of  the  Arkansas  and  Platte,  was  hardly  out  of 
sight  of  the  peak  wrongly  named  after  him.  He  passed  up  the 
Arkansas  as  far  as  the  present  site  of  Canon  City,  and  then  by  a 
detour,  to  its  source,  near  Leadville.  Thence  he  descended  the 
stream,  imagining  that  he  was  on  the  Red,  until  he  reached  one  of 
his  former  encampments.  Pike  was  unaware  of  the  fact  that  it 
was  the  Canadian  that  rises  near  Santa  Fe,  and  not  the  Red,  for 
which  he  was  searching.  He  consoled  himself  for  his  failure  by 
reflecting  that  he  had  learned  much  of  the  headwaters  of  the 
Arkansas  and  Platte,  and  as  he  mistakenly  supposed,  of  the  Yel- 
lowstone."" Passing  up  Grape  Creek,  a  branch  of  the  Arkansas, 
the  party  crossed  the  Sangre  de  Cristo  Mountains,  both  leader  and 
men  suffering  intensely,  and  several  of  the  latter  being  left  behind. 
Upon  the  River  Conejos,  a  western  tributary  of  the  Rio  Grande, 
about  five  miles  from  its  mouth,  on  the  ist  of  February,  Pike 
began  the  erection  of  a  stockade  He  claimed  that  it  was  to  serve 
as  a  protection  for  the  survivors  of  the  party  from  the  Indians, 
while  game  was  being  killed  and  help  was  sent  back  to  those  in 
the  mountains.'^ 

That  Pike  had  an  idea  of  defending  himself  against  other 
enemies  than  the  Indians  is  shown  by  the  care  which  he  bestowed 
upon  the  construction  of  his  stockade,  and  by  his  own  statement 
that,  "thus  fortified,  I  should  not  have  the  least  hesitation  of  put- 
ting the  icx)  Spanish  horse  at  defiance  until  the  first  or  second 
night,  and  then  to  have  made  our  escape  under  cover  of  the  dark- 
ness; or  made  a  vSally  and  dispersed  them,  when  resting  under  a 
full  confidence  of  our  being  panic-struck  bv  their  numbers  and 
force."6 

Pike,  by  his  own  claim,  believed  himself  to  be  upon  a  tributary 
of  the  Red  River,  but  he  knew  that  he  was  a  few  miles  beyond  its 
right  bank  and  within  disputed  territory,  if  not  upon  actual  Span- 

3.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  433-459. 

4.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  479. 

5.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  479-494. 

6.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  498. 

125 


ish  soil.  Apparently  he  expected  an  attack  from  the  force  under 
Malg"ares,  and  was  determined  to  give  as  good  an  account  of  him- 
self as  possible.  He  may  have  conceived  it  his  duty  to  construct  a 
strong  fort  within  disputed  territory  and  to  raise  the  American 
flag,  in  order  to  counteract,  by  this  sort  of  miHtary  demonstration, 
the  effect  of  Malgares'  incursion  into  what  he  regarded  as  undis- 
puted American  territory.  His  true  motive,  in  absence  of  further 
documentary  evidence,  must  remain  uncertain,  but  his  quiet  sub- 
mission, much  to  the  relief  of  the  Spaniards,  who  had  a  wholesome 
respect  for  his  stockade,  would  seem  to  prove  that  he  intended 
simply  to  make  a  demonstration  that  would  secure  him  an  entrance 
into  Santa  Fe.  In  view  of  this  demonstration,  his  subsequent 
treatment  by  those  whom  he  thus  rashly  challenged,  may  be  re- 
garded as  unusually  forbearing.''' 

It  was  from  this  stockade  that,  on  February  7,  Robinson 
started  out  upon  his  hazardous  mission  to  collect  Morrison's  claim 
upon  Baptiste  Lalande,  and  incidentally  to  learn  whatever  he  could 
of  New  Mexico.  Proceeding  up  the  Conejos,  on  the  second  day 
he  fell  in  with  some  Ute  Indians,  who  conducted  him  to  a  frontier 
village,  whence  he  was  sent  to  Santa  Fe.  From  these  Indians 
Robinson  claimed  that  he  first  knew^  that  Pike  was  on  the  Rio 
Grande,  rather  than  the  Red,  and  for  a  time  he  was  uncertain 
whether  to  return  and  inform  Pike  or  to  push  on;  but  as  he  dis- 
trusted the  Indians,  he  determined  to  proceed  at  once  to  the  near- 
est settlement.  The  governor,  Allencaster,  distrusted  Robinson's 
alleged  motive  for  being  in  his  capital,  but  treated  him  well  and 
sent  him  farther  into  the  interior — a  policy  that,  as  long  as  he  was 
kindly  treated,  accorded  onlv  too  well  with  the  American's  wishes. 
Meanwhile,  alarmed  by  the  latter's  presence,  Allencaster  took  im- 
mediate steps  to  apprehend  Pike  and  the  survivors  of  his  party.^ 

On  the  i6th  of  February,  Pike  experienced  the  first  results  of 
Robinson's  mission,  in  the  form  of  a  visit  from  two  Spanish  spies, 
who  were  entertained  at  the  stockade  and  informed  of  the  reason 
for  his  presence.  After  they  left.  Pike  took  measures  to  bring  up 
his  stragglers  and  strengthen  his  defenses.     On  the  26th  of  Feb- 


7.  For  a  discussion  of  Pike's  situation  at  this  juncture,  see  Coues, 
Pike,  II,  499,  504,  notes  44  and  46. 

8.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  498,  624,  625. 


126 


ruary  a  party  of  fifty  dragoons  and  fifty  mounted  militia  arrived 
before  the  stockade,  and  from  its  leaders  Pike  first  learned  (so  he 
states)  that  he  was  upon  the  western  bank  of  the  Rio  Grande,  and 
consequently  within  undoubted  Spanish  jurisdiction.  He  imme- 
diately lowered  his  flag,  and  after  some  argument  with  the  Span- 
iards, who  promised  him  safe  conduct  without  using  the  least 
restraint,  he  made  the  best  of  an  awkward  situation  b}'  promising 
to  accompany  them  to  Santa  Fe.  In  view  of  all  his  preparations 
up  to  this  point,  we  can  not  but  regard  this  reluctance  as  largely 
feigned.  He  was  running  a  risk,  it  is  true,  in  trusting  the  Span- 
iards, but  he  doubtless  believed  the  end  he  had  in  view  fully  jus- 
tified all  that  he  and  his  men  incurred. 

The  Spanish  view  of  Pike  and  his  party  is  of  interest.  Aside 
from  the  documents  already  cited  in  the  preceding  chapters,  the 
leport  of  Governor  Allencaster  to  Salcedo,  dated  at  Santa  Fe, 
April  I,  1807,^  is  worthy  of  extended  notice.  After  giving  a 
resume  of  the  appearance  of  Robinson  and  the  apprehension  of 
Pike  and  his  men,  who,  however,  were  not  treated  as  prisoners, 
he  wrote : 

*'  From  all  which  circumstances,  from  what  I  g-athered  from  Robin- 
son and  from  the  above  named  officer  (whom  he  styles  "Mungo-Meri- 
Paike")  I  concluded  distinctly  that  the  expedition  of  July  [July,  1806], 
was  especially  desig-ned  to  conciliate  two  Indian  tribes  in  behalf  of  the 
U.  S.  Goverment,  to  make  them  liberal  presents,  and  drawing-  them  into 
friendship,  treaty  and  commerce,  to  place  them  under  the  Anglo- 
American  protection — all  this  referring-  especially  to  the  Comanche 
tribe,  the  most  powerful  of  our  allies. 

Furthermore,  that  the  An g-lo- American  g-overnment  considers  as 
included  within  the  boundaries  of  Louisiana,  all  the  rivers  that  empty 
into  the  Mississippi;  and  all  the  territories  that  extend  to  the  head- 
waters of  the  Rio  Colorado  [meaning  the  Canadian,  according-  to 
Meline]  which  rises  a  few  leagues  from  the  Pueblo  of  Taos  further  to 
the  north  in  this  province;  that  it  is  their  intention  this  year  or  the  next 
to  establish  fortes  or  settlements  on  all  these  rivers,  in  order  to  monop- 
olize all  the  trade  and  commerce  carried  on  by  a  large  number  of  tribes 
in  the  province." 

9.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  XLVI,  XIvVII,  quoted  from  Meline,  Two  Thou- 
sand Miles  on  Horseback,  243-245. 

10.  The  journey  ends  at  this  time  for  Pike,  Robinson  on  part  of  the 
men.  On  May  3,  1808,  Pike  reported  eight  men  as  still  detained  in 
Mexico.  (Coues,  Pike,  II,  855,  note  5).  The  Louisiana  Herald,  May  5, 
1821,  mentions  the  arrival  at  Fort  Smith  of  Sergeant  William  Meek, 
who  had  been  released  the  preceding  September,  after  14  years  detention. 

127 


Underhand  dealings  with  the  Indians  and  unfounded  territorial 
claims !  These  constitute  the  burden  of  the  Governor's  report,  as 
well  as  of  almost  every  Spanish  border  communication  of  this 
period.  Yet  Pike  and  his  men  were  treated  with  undeserved  mod- 
eration as  they  passed  on  their  enforced  Mexican  tour,  which 
finally,  by  a  roundabout  course,  ended  July  i  at  the  American 
encampment  at  Natchitoches,  where  Wilkinson,  a  year  before,  had 
bidden  hnn  repair.^^  It  is  not  within  the  province  of  this  study  to 
consider  the  details  of  this  valuable  journey.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
Pike,  by  somewhat  questionable  practices,  collected  a  vast  mass  of 
information,  which  for  the  first  time  presented  in  an  alluring  light 
the  attraction  of  the  South-West  for  the  prospective  trader  and 
adventurer.  By  his  cleverness  and  assiduity,  aided  by  a  good 
memory,  Pike  succeeded  in  making  good,  in  a  measure,  the  loss 
of  his  papers  at  the  hands  of  Captain-General  Salcedo. 

Meanwhile,  how  had  it  fared  with  Pike's  former  associate, 
Lieutenant  James  B.  Wilkinson?  After  having  his  superior  offi- 
cer, Wilkinson  essayed  the  navigation  of  Arkansas,  but  the  low 
stage  of  water  caused  this  to  be  simply  a  dragging  of  the  canoes 
through  the  sand  and  ice.  Naturally  this  first  day's  navigation 
caused  the  party  the  utmost  discouragement,  and  when,  two  days 
later,  after  the  river  froze  completely,  the  water  ran  off  from 
under  the  ice,  Wilkinson  determined  to  take  to  the  land.  This 
step  caused  the  abandonment  of  most  of  their  clothin"-  and  provi- 
sions. The  march  over  sand  hills  and  river  bottoms,  with  an  inad- 
equate supply  of  provisions,  soon  became  tiresome,  and  on  the  15th 
of  November  he  halted  to  construct  some  new  canoes,  and  to  lay 
in  a  supply  of  meat.  By  the  25th  of  this  month  he  again  at- 
tempted the  river  navigation,  but  with  little  better  success  than 
before.  On  the  30th  he  met  with  some  of  the  Grand  Osages,  and 
visited  one  of  their  chiefs,  who  complained  of  the  dealings  of 
Chouteau  with  his  tribe,  and  charged  him  with  being  unfriendly 
towards  the  Americans.  This  gave  young  Wilkinson  opportunity 
to  make  some  remarks  about  the  government  policy  of  distributing 
medals,  which  had  been  carried  on  so  as  greatly  to  cheapen  the 
value  of  these  tokens  in  savage  eyes.^^ 

The  remainder  of  the  unfortunate  journey  contains  little  that 

11.     Coues,  Pz/fe^,  II,  550-552. 

128 


is  worthy  of  attention.  Lieutenant  Wilkinson  recommended  the 
location  of  a  factory  on  the  Verdigris  River,  and  described  the 
Osages  living  upon  its  banks.  But  he  seems  to  have  had  few 
qualifications  for  taking  observations,  and  the  circumstances  of 
the  journey,  coupled  with  his  own  indisposition  during  part  of  the 
time,  did  not  permit  him  to  add  any  valuable  results  to  the  general 
store  of  western  knowledge.  He  did,  however,  prepare  a  chart  of 
his  course,  which  he  hoped  the  President,  as  well  as  his  father, 
would  find  satisfactory.  It  was  doubtless  utilized  in  making  the 
later  maps  of  this  region,  particularly  those  published  in  Pike's 
v/ork. 

When  Pike  reached  Natchitoches,  he  found  awaiting  hini 
there  a  letter  from  General  Wilkinson, ^^  congratulating  him  upon 
his  safe  return,  and  giving  directions  regarding  his  future  move 
ments.  It  is  suggestive  to  note  that  he  mentioned  the  reports  j 
connecting  him  with  Burr,  and  then  cautioned  the  young  explorer  | 
to  be  careful  about  breathing  a  word  concerning  the  information 
he  had  acquired,  "because  publicity  may  excite  a  spirit  of  adven- 
ture adverse  to  the  interests  of  our  government,  or  injurious  to 
the  maturation  of  those  plans  which  may  hereafter  be  found  neces- 
sary and  justifiable  by  the  government."  He  asked  Pike  to  make 
up  his  reports  in  duplicate  and  transmit  them  to  him  at  Washing- 
ton. He  was  also  to  furnish  the  proposed  Arkansas  expeditions*^ 
with  such  information  as  he  judged  favorable.  He  mentioned  the 
President's  approbation  of  his  work  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  and 
gave  him  permission  to  repair  to  Washington  as  soon  as  his  re- 
ports were  read^^ 

Immediately  upon  his  arrival  Pike  answered  his  patron's  let- 
ter,s*  giving  a  very  full  description  of  the  seizure  of  his  papers  at 
Chihuahua,  and  of  the  way  he  had  been  able  to  repair  this  loss,  to 
a  measurable  extent,  and  add  other  notes  of  the  journey  through 
Mexico.  This  material  would,  in  his  opinion,  aflford  results  which 
he  conceived  "to  be  immensely  important,  and  which  open  a  scene 
for  the  generosity  and  aggrandizement  of  our  country,  with  a  wide 
and  splendid  field  for  harvests  of  honor  for  individuals."  He 
m.entioned  the  fragmentary  character  of  his  notes,  which  would 

12.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  825-828. 

13.  See  pag-e  90. 

14.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  828-836. 

129 


]>revent  him  from  complying  immediately  with  Wilkinson's  request 
for  duplicate  copies  of  his  report.  He  spoke  of  taking  distance^, 
and  courses  on  his  journey  to  St.  Louis,  which  would  complete  his 
tour  of  the  greater  part  of  Louisiana.  *'I  am  certain/'  he  added, 
''that  from  the  survey  of  the  Missouri  by  Captains  Lewis  and 
Clark,  my  own  of  the  Mississippi,  Lieutenant  Wilkinson's  of  the 
Lower  Arkansas,  which  river  I  surveyed  to  its  sources,  and  Mr. 
Dunbar's  of  the  Red  River,  can  be  formed  the  completest  survey 
of  Louisiana  ever  yet  taken."  He  spoke  well  of  his  men,  espe- 
cially his  interpreter,  and  recommended  his  companion,  Dr.  Rob- 
inson for  a  commission. 

As  Pike  was  uncertain  of  Wilkinson's  exact  whereabouts,  he 
likewise  reported  his  arrival  to  Secretary  Dearborn^^''*  in  a  letter, 
less  personal  in  tone,  but  of  more  general  interest.  After  bitterly 
criticizing  the  action  of  Captain-General  Salcedo  toward  himself 
and  command,  he  fiercely  charged  him  with  violation  of  our  terri- 
tories, oppression  of  our  citizens,  and  tampering  with  our  Indians. 
The  "unreasonable  ideas"  of  this  official  and  the  Viceroy  upon  the 
subject  of  the  "Hne  of  demarkation"  was  such  as,  he  thought, 
would  preclude  amicable  adjustment.  Upon  this  line  he  had  some 
information,  as  well  as  some  knowledge  of  New  Spain,  that  would 
be  useful  in  case  of  a  rupture  with  the  United  States.  He  closed 
his  epistle  with  the  following  significant  summary  of  recent 
Louisiana  exploration,  in  which  his  own  part  was  not  belittled : 

**The  surveys  of  Captains  lycwis  and  Clark;  mine  of  the  Missis- 
sippi; Osag-e;  upper  Arkansas;  Platte  and  Kansas  rivers,  with  L/ieuten- 
ant  Wilkinson's  and  Mr.  Freeman's  of  the  lower  parts  of  the  Red  and 
Arkansas  rivers,  together  with  the  notes  I  intend  taking:  on  my  route 
from  hence  up  the  Mississippi;  will  I  presume  form  a  mass  of  matter, 
which  will  leave  but  threei6  more  objects  to  be  desired  in  forming-  a 
complete  chart  of  Louisiana." 

Pike  immediately  began  the  task  of  arranging  his  notes,  but  in 
the  course  of  a  month  he  realized  that  the  seizure  of  his  papers  by 
Salcedo  was  a  more  serious  loss  than  he  at  first  thought.  Accord- 
ingly, on  August  20,  1807,  he  addressed  to  that  official^^  a  futile 
request  for  these  papers,  not  merely  as  a  personal  favor  to  him- 

15.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  L,,  lyl. 

16.  Pike  does  not  mention  the  three  objects,  but  the  writer  ventures 
to  sug-g-est  that  he  had  in  mind  the  Red,  the  Platte,  and  the  Yellowstone. 

17.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  837-839. 

130 


self,  but  because  his  notes  of  the  Arkansas  would  be  of  value  to  his 
j^overnment  in  determining  the  important  question  of  limits.  He 
also  remonstrated  vigorously  against  the  detention  of  his  remain- 
ing men  long  after  the  time  promised  by  Salcedo.  Furthermore, 
Pike  took  occasion  to  publish  in  the  Natchez  Herald}^  an  account 
of  the  survivors  of  Nolan's  expedition,  and  of  his  own  intercession 
with  Salcedo  in  their  behalf. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  Mississippi  voyage,  Pike  prepared  a  geo- 
graphical dissertation^®  on  the  portion  of  Louisiana  that  he  trav- 
ersed on  his  second  expedition.  This  comprised  some  description 
of  the  rivers  he  crossed^  and  the  general  character  of  the  inter- 
vening territory.  He  mistakenly  made  the  assertion  that  he  could 
take  a  position  in  the  mountains  from  which,  by  a  day's  journey, 
he  could  reach  the  sources  of  the  Arkansas,  the  Yellowstone,  the 
Platte,  the  Colorado,  or  the  Rio  Grande.  He  not  only  made  this 
assertion  in  print,  but  drew  his  maps  to  correspond.  Pike  was 
likewise  the  discoverer  of  the  great  American  Desert,  which  he 
believed  would  afford  the  advantage  of  keeping  our  population 
more  compact.  Furthermore,  Pike  gave  a  fairlv  complete  and 
accurate  picture  of  the  Osage,  Pawnee  and  Comanche  Indians — 
the  latter,  of  course,  not  from  personal  observation.  In  general,  \ 
one  would  safely  characterize  Pike's  geographical  and  ethnological 
work  in  the  South- West  as  interesting,  rather  than  highly  im-  j 
portant.  But  this  is  partly  due  to  the  seizure  of  his  papers  by  the  \ 
Spaniards. 

Shortly  after  the  arrival  of  Pike  at  Chihuahua,  Captain-General 
Salcedo  directed  a  letter  to  General  Wilkinson^^^  in  which  he 
spoke  of  the  representations  made  by  the  Spanish  minister  at 
Washington,  and  by  Casa  Calvo  at  New  Orleans,  against  any  ex- 
ploring expeditions  into  territories  unquestionably  belonging  to 
His  Majesty.  He  mentioned  the  reasons  given  by  Pike  and  Rob- 
inson for  their  presence  in  New  Mexico,  but  stated  that  their 
papers  showed  an  offense  against  the  Crown  of  Spain  that  would 
justify  their  being  held  as  prisoners.  With  a  desire  to  preserve 
harmony  and  good  understanding,  however,  he  had  merely  kept 


18.  Coues,  Pike,  I,  IvII  ff. 

19.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  Chapter  IV. 

20.  Pike,  Account,  etc.,  App.  to  Pt.  Ill,  86,  87.      Coues,  Pike,  II, 
815-817. 

131 


their  papers,  while  he  afforded  the  persons  themselves  every  oppor- 
tunity to  return  to  their  native  country.  When  this  letter,  for- 
warded by  Wilkinson,  reached  Washington,  Jefferson  suggested 
to  Dearborn  a  conciliatory  answer.^^  He  was  to  mention  the  fact 
that  although  the  United  States  considered  itself  entitled  to  the 
country  to  the  Bravo  (Rio  Grande),  it  carefully  abstained  from 
making  any  advances  beyond  the  Sabine,  until  its  claims  should 
be  amicably  settled.  With  the  Red  River  the  case  was  different. 
That  river  unquestionably  belonged  to  France ;  for  that  nation  had 
made  several  settlements  upon  it,  while  Spain,  on  the  contrary,  had 
none.  Consequently  our  government,  as  successor  to  the  French, 
took  measures  for  the  exploration  of  the  river,  by  sending  Mr. 
Freeman  from  its  mouth  upwards,  and  Lieutenant  Pike  from  the 
source  downwards.  The  object  of  these  expeditions  was  merely 
scientific,  and  Pike's  orders  to  confine  himself  to  the  Red  were  so 
strict  that  it  could  be  only  an  unfortunate  mistake  that  carried  him 
to  the  headwaters  of  the  Rio  Bravo.  The  letter  should  close  with 
a  request  to  excuse  his  misfortune,  and  with  an  expression  of 
thanks  for  the  courtesies  already  extended  to  him,  in  the  hope  that 
these  would  include  the  return  of  his  papers.  The  letter  was 
probably  dispatched  in  accordance  with  the  President's  suorges- 
tions,  but  evidently  without  the  wished-for  result. 

In  addition  to  the  annoyance  caused  by  the  loss  of  his  papers, 
partially  made  good.  Pike  had  to  suffer  from  the  fact  that  his  trip 
was  authorized  only  by  a  general  under  public,  if  not  official,  sus- 
picion ;  that  no  one  high  in  office  bore  the  same  personal  relation 
to  him  that  Jefferson  bore  to  his  former  secretary,  Lewis;  and 
that  his  task  did  not  appeal  to  the  popular  imagination  in  such  a 
way  as  did  the  opening  up  of  a  new  route  to  the  South  Sea,  A 
committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  twice  reported  in 
favor  of  his  services.^^  General  Dearborn  wrote  him  a  personal 
letter,  in  which  he  spoke  of  the  high  appreciation  held  by  the 
President  of  his  political,  geographical,  and  historical  information, 
and  of  his  own  personal  belief  that  the  public  was  much  indebted 
to  him.23     He  also  wTote  to  the  President,  urging  special  com- 


i 


21.    Jefferson  to  Dearborn,  June  22,  1807,  Ford,  Writings  of  feffer- 
son,  IX,  85,  86^^ 

2£~'Am:  State  Papers,  Misc.,  I,  719,  942-944. 

23.     Coues,  Pike,  II,  844;  Jefferson  Papers,  Ser.  3,  Vol.  11,  No.  72. 

132 


pensation.  Yet  there  was  something  sinister  connected  with  the 
whole  expedition  that  created  a  distrust  of  its  chief  actor ;  and  this 
distrust  has  remained  to  the  present  day.  Even  the  committee 
that  on  March  lo,  1808,  reported  strongly  in  favor  of  compensa- 
tion for  him  and  his  men,  mentioned  the  connection  of  a  Joseph 
Ballenger  with  the  expedition  as  due  to  the  furtherance  of  some 
Spanish  project,  and  stated  that  Pike  may  or  may  not  have  had 
knowledge  of  it,  but  forebore  to  discuss  it,  as  foreign  to  its  report. 
With  this  insinuation  of  double  dealing,  in  addition  to  Robin- 
son's presence  and  subsequent  career,  and  Wilkinson's  duplicity, 
Pike  certainly  carried  a  load  of  suspicion  and  intrigue  that  would 
have  overburdened  a  far  more  prominent  figure  than  himself. 
Even  his  modest  literary  laurels  are  tarnished  by  the  fact  that  he 
used  too  freely  and  without  due  acknowledgment  the  contem- 
porary publications  of  the  Baron  Von  Humbgldt.^*  "Jtie^e  facts, 
however,  and  the  greater  glamour  accompanying~the  Lewis  and 
Clark  expedition,  should  not  lead  us  to  withhold  from  him  due 
credit  for  his  bravery,  and  for  what  he  actually  accomplished.  His 
journey  proved  the  feasibility  of  an  overland  trading  route  from 
Missouri  to  Santa  Fe,  from  which  later  traders  were  to  reap  a 
rich  rew^ard,  and  over  which  another  finally  led  an  American  army 
of  conquest.  His  description  of  the  mineral  and  agricultural 
wealth  of  New  Spain  stimulated  the  appetite  of  every  adventurous 
American  spirit ;  while  his  report  of  the  desire  of  the  native  Mex- 
icans for  independence  doubly  stirred  some  of  these  to  campaigns 
in  which  the  emancipation  of  an  oppressed  people  and  personal 
gain  and  glory  were  both  controlling  motives.  During  the  decade 
after  the  appearance  of  his  published  journal,  it  formed  the  guide 
book  of  the  southwestern  filibuster. 


24.     Ford,  Writings  of  Jefferson,  IX.  432;  Coues,  Pike,  I,  XLI-XLIII. 


133 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  DIPLOMATIC  CORRESPONDENCE  OF  LOUISIANA 
EXPLORATION. 

From  a  diplomatic  standpoint,  the  subject  of  Louisiana  explo- 
ration presents  little  of  importance,  and  that  is  principally  con- 
cerned with  the  results  of  Pike's  unauthorized  incursion  into  New 
Mexico.  Yet,  for  the  sake  of  completeness,  this  phase  of  the  sub- 
ject should  receive  brief  treatment.  Certain  correspondence  al- 
ready mentioned,  such  as  Casa  Calvo's  communications  to  his 
hom.e  government  and  to  the  officials  of  the  Internal  Provinces; 
Jefferson's  application  for  a  passport  for  the  Red  River  Expedi- 
tion; Salcedo's  complaints  of  Lewis,  Freeman,  and  Pike;  and  his 
spirited  missives  to  Claiborne  and  Wilkinson,^  bear  a  semi-diplo- 
matic stamp.  In  addition,  during  these  critical  years  of  mutual 
recrimination,  these  exploring  expeditions  served  too  well  as  pre- 
texts for  regular  diplomatic  communications,  to  remain  unused. 
Early  in  the  year  1805  the  Secretary  of  State,  Madison,  felt 
/  called  upon  to  protest  to  Casa  Yrujo,.the  Spanish  minister,  against 
i  certain  movements  upon  the  Louisiana  frontier^  which  he  regarded 
^  as  hostile  in  character.  In  his  reply  of  March  12,^  Casa  Yrujo 
gave  what  seemed  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  these  movements, 
and  then  proceeded  to  inquire  upon  what  grounds  the  American 
government  justified  the  expeditions  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  and  of 
Hunter  and  Dunbar.  Madison  had  expressed  himself  as  espe- 
cially anxious,  while  the  territorial  claims  were  in  dispute,  that 
both  nations  should  maintain  the  statu<^  gun  upon  the  Florida  and 
Texas  frontiers.  While  the  Spanish  authorities  had  in  no  way 
assented  to  this  proposal,  in  Casa  Yrujo's  opinion  they  ha4  ob- 
served it.  He  wished  to  avoid  the  appearance  of  recrimination, 
yet  he  felt  compelled  to  state  that  when  American  officials,  without 
knowing  the  limits  of  Louisiana,  authorized  the  exploration  of  a 


1.  See  pag-§s  23,  56,  58,  59,  87-89. 

2.  Casa  Yrujo  to  Madison,  March  12,  1805.     MSS.  Spanish  Notes, 
I,  Bureau  of  Indexes  and  Archives.  ^ 

134 


rep^ion  in  the  undoubted  possession  of  His  Catholic  Majesty,  as  he 
regarded  the  territory  bordering  upon  the  Missouri  and  its  tribu- 
taries, they  were  violating  the  very  status  quo  upon  which  they 
insisted.  These  expeditions  were  without  the  consent  of  the 
Spanish  authorities,  who  had  received  no  previous  notice  of  them. 

Although  his  note  remained  unanswered,  it  probably  influ-*. 
enced  Jefferson  to  seek  a  passport  for  the  Dunbar  expedition.**^) 
Madison  also  took  occasion  to  inform  Armstrong,  in  Paris,  and 
George  W.  Erving,  our  Charge  at  Madrid,^  that  these  exploring 
expeditions  in  no  measure  justified  Spanish  hostilities  on  the 
frontier.  The  object  of  the  expedition  under  Lewis  had  been 
communicated  to  Casa  Yrujo,  and  the  latter  had  vouchsafed  no 
reply  to  show  that  the  Spanish  government  was  not  satisfied  with 
the  explanation.  The  American  officials  had  assumed  that  the 
other  expedition  was  as  little  objectionable,  and,  moreover,  Gov- 
ernor Claiborne  had  been  ready  to  enter  into  explanation  with 
Casa  Calvo  or  Folch  regarding  it. 

After  this  first  protest  there  was  little  in  the  succeeding  expe-/ 
ditions  that  called  for  diplomatic  intervention  previous  to  PikeV 
famous  Mexican  tour.     The  accompanying  circumstance  of  this 
journey  offered  much  to  justify  such  intervention.     Casa  Yrujo 
had  departed,  but  had  left  a   worthy  successor  in  the  Charge 
d'Affaires.  Valentin  de  Foronda.     We  have  already  noticed  Sal- 
cedo's  denunciation  of  Pike's  intrusion  and  Jefferson's  suggested 
reply,^  which,  however,  as  Madison  speedily  learned,  failed  to 
appease    Spanish    resentment.     On   August   22,    1807,    Foronda 
directed  to  the  State  Department  a  note,*^  in  which  he  mentioned 
Salcedo's  letter  to  Wilkinson  announcing  Pike's  arrest,  and  then 
proceeded  to  laud  the  generous  treatment  of  the  latter  by  the    / 
Captain-General  as  another  proof  of  the   friendship  which  the  / 
King  felt  for  the  American  government.     Continuing,  he  uttered  / 
this  .significant  comment  upon  Pike's  mission :  / 


3.  See  pag-e  56. 

4.  Madison  to  Erving,  March   15,  18u5.      Bureau  of  Indexes  and 
Archives,  Instructions,  6. 

5.  See  pages  131,  132. 

6.  Foronda  to  Madison,  Aug-.  22,  1807,  Spanish  Notes,  II,  Bureau  of 
Indexes  and  Archives. 


135 


"According  to  the  law  of  nations  Dr.  Robinson  and  the  officer  Pike 
should  have  been  treated  as  spies;  they  were  apprehended  in  a  country 
concerning-  which  there  was  not  the  least  dispute,  the  least  doubt,  but 
that  it  belonged  to  my  August  Sovereign.  It  is  true  that  the  officer 
alleged  that  he  lost  his  way.  The  statement  may  be  true,  but  it  may  also 
be  a  pretext,  and  the  latter  is  more  probable.  You  know  that  if  such 
excuses  are  satisfactory  a  spy  could  never  be  condemned.  You  ought 
to  know  that  Pike  contradicted  himself  in  his  declaration,  for  at  first 
he  declared  that  Dr.  Robinson  was  not  connected  with  him,  and  later 
that  he  was. 

The  suspicions  against  this  official  were  increased  by  discovering  a 
small  sketch  upon  torn  paper,  of  the  territory  situated  between  Missouri 
and  Santa  F^,  with  information,  obtained  in  the  latter  villa,  of  its  pop- 
ulation, commerce,  etc. 

[Consider  ?]  this  fact,  that  Dr.  Robinson  had  penetrated  to  Santa 
F^,  upon  the  specious  pretext  of  collecting  an  account.  Grant  that  he 
was  French,  and  that  he  departed  the  ISth  of  June,  for  the  country  of 
the  Pawnees  to  receive  what  was  due  him.  Your  perspicuity  will  lead 
you  to  agree  with  me  that  although  the  assertions  may  be  true,  they 
have  all  the  appearances  of  a  mere  pretext,  since  the  Doctor  belonged 
to  Pike's  party,  and  penetrated  to  Santa  F^. 

Nevertheless,  the  General  Commandant  has  raised  to  such  a  point 
his  generosity,  out  of  consideration  for  these  States,  that  instead  of 
punishing  them  according  to  the  full  rigor  of  the  laws  and  of  making 
an  example,  so  that  in  the  future  no  one  should  dare  to  place  a  foot  in 
the  dominions  of  the  King,  my  Master,  unless  with  previous  license, 
he  not  only  permitted  Pike  and  his  soldiers  to  return  to  their  country, 
but  he  also  advanced  them  a  thousand  dollars  for  their  expenses.  This 
sum  he  enters  as  a  claim  and  I  hope  that  this  government  will  be 
pleased  to  reimburse  it,  placing  it  at  my  disposition." 

Foronda's  letter  certainly  did  not  mince  matters  regarding  the 
conduct  of  Wilkinson's  emissaries ;  and  Jefferson,  to  whom  Madi- 
son referred  the  matter,  evidently  felt  that  something  must  be 
said  to  remove  the  implied  censure  of  his  government,  without  at 
the  same  time  incriminating  the  protege  of  his  favorite  general. 
Accordingly,  he  advised  Madison^  to  arrange  through  the  War 
Department  for  the  repayment  of  the  money  actually  advanced  to 
Pike.  At  the  same  time  he  should  assure  Foronda  that  this  gov- 
ernment never  employed  a  spy  for  any  purpose;  and  that  Pike's 
mission  was  to  ascend  the  Arkansas  and  descend  the  Red,  to  ascer- 
tain their  geography.  So  far  as  the  administration  knew,  he  en- 
tered the  waters  of  the  North  River  (Rio  Grande)  believing  them 

7.  Jefferson  to  Madison,  Aug.  30,  1807,  Jefferson  Papers,  Ser.  1, 
Vol.  12,  No.  250. 

136 


to  be  those  of  the  Red.  Although  our  claim  extended  as  far  as 
the  former  river,  together  with  the  privilege  of  navigating  it,  yet 
Pike's  voyage  was  not  intended  to  assert  that  right;  and  it  was 
merely  mentioned  because  the  Spanish  minister  has  chosen  to 
deny  it. 

Following  the  President's  suggestion  Madison,  on  the  2nd 
of  the  following  month,  informed  Foronda  that  the  Secretary  of 
War  had  been  instructed  to  repay  the  thousand  dollars  loaned 
Pike.  Evidently  he  made  the  rest  of  the  President's  letter  the 
subject  of  a  verbal  communication  to  the  Spaniard,  for  the  subject 
does  not  now  appear  in  the  files  of  the  Department. 

B}^  the  following  February  Foronda  received  from  Salcedo 
detailed  accounts  of  the  expenses  incurred  by  the  Captain- 
Generalcy  of  the  Internal  Provinces  because  of  the  entrance  of 
Pike  and  his  party,  and  notified  Madison  of  this  fact.^  These 
expenses  amounted  to  21,655  tcsos^  3  reales^  7  granos  (about 
$21,655.44),  more  than  double  the  sum  appropriated  by  Congress 
for  all  the  exploring  expeditions  so  far  employed.^  The  Spaniard 
proceeded  upon  the  principle  that  the  party  causing  unnecessary 
expenses  should  be  responsible  for  them.  Pike  had  no  business 
in  New  Mexico ;  and  as  he  was  an  officer  in  government  service, 
the  United  States  was  answerable  for  the  expenses  growing  out 
of  his  incursion.  His  government  might  allege  that  he  had  mis- 
taken his  route,  but  that  was  no  fault  of  Spain.  As  a  proof  of 
the  moderateness  of  the  charges,  he  cited  an  item  of  $37.50  for 
seventy-five  days  maintenance  of  two  of  Pike's  disabled  soldiers. 
He  did  not  doubt  the  fact  that  when  the  President's  attention 
should  be  called  to  the  account,  he  would  give  the  necessary  order 
for  its  payment. 

When  Foronda  charged  the  American  government  with  the 
responsibility  for  Pike's  actions,  he  placed  the  administration  in 
the  awkward  position  either  of  repudiating  Wilkinson  or  of  as- 
suming a  moderate  claim  for  damages.  This  advantage  he  lost 
by  presenting   such   an   unreasonable  bill.     After  allowing  two 


8.  Foronda  to  Madison,  Feb.  7,  1808,  Spanish  Notes,  II,  Bureau  of 
Indexes  and  Archives. 

9.  These  amounted  to  $2500  for  Lewis  and  Clark,  and  $8000  for  the 
various  attempts  under  Dunbar.  The  enlisted  officers  and  men  were,  in 
addition,  paid  by  the  War  Department. 

137 


weeks  to  elapse  without  deigning  a  reply,  Madison  wrote  asking 
for  the  Captain-General's  itemized  accounts.  Meanwhile 
Foronda,  stirred  up  from  Madrid,  became  impatient  and  sent  a 
second  long  dunning  note/^  in  which,  by  elaborate  explanation  of 
Pike  and  Wilkinson's  duplicity,  he  sought  to  justify  Salcedo's  pre- 
posterous claim.  Since  his  note  of  the  preceding  August,  various 
documents  had  come  into  His  Majesty's  possession  which  aroused 
still  graver  suspicions  that  Pike's  entrance  was  premeditated. 
Accordingly,  the  Minister  of  State  brought  the  matter  to  the  at- 
tention of  the  American  Charge  at  Madrid,  and  wished  him  like- 
wise to  make  another  vigorous  representation  to  the  President. 

Foronda  quoted  his  letter  of  August  22,  1808,  concerning  Sal- 
cedo's  generosity  towards  Robinson  and  Pike,  and  then  proceeded 
to  give  other  proofs  of  the  malevolent  designs  of  these  Americans 
upon  New  Mexico.  In  one  of  the  documents  seized  by  Salcedo, 
Wilkinson  had  written  to  Pike  of  Jupiter,  of  telescopes,  and  of 
sextants.  This  fact  in  itself  Foronda  thought  suspicious; 
but  in  another  document,  where  the  General  again  spoke  of  the 
planet  and  its  satellites,  he  suddenly  introduced  the  name  of 
Miranda.  The  mention  of  this  restless  revolutionist  caused  the 
Spanish  minister  to  believe  that  Wilkinson's  astronomical  instruc- 
tions formed  simply  a  new  filibustering  code.  If  Pike  knew  how 
to  take  observations,  he  needed  no  such  suggestions;  if  he  did 
not,,  such  superficial  instruction  would  avail  him  nothing.  Other 
similar  signs  also  appeared  suspicious,  especially  in  the  hands  of  a 
military  officer,  at  the  head  of  an  armed  force,  and  in  foreign  ter- 
ritory.^^ 

In  another  document,  Foronda  continued,  Pike  mentioned  the 
weakness  of  the  Pawnee  Republic,  in  connection  with  the  Red 
River.  This  led  him  to  fear  that  he  alluded  to  Spain.  It  was 
the  same  language  employed  by  insolent  hack-writers  who  forgot 
the  days  when  Roman  senators  spoke  of  the  Spaniards  with  re- 
spect, or  who  ignored  recent  events^  such  as  the  humbling  of 
British  pride  before  Buenos  Ayres. 

He  also  complained  of  other  subjects  which  displayed  Pike's 


10.  Foronda  to  Madison,  Feb.  22,  1808,  Spanish  Notes,  II,  Bureau  of 
Indexes  and  Archives. 

11.  Cf.  Wilkinson  to  Pike,  Au^.  6,  1806,  Coues,  Pike,  II,  576. 


138 


conduct  in  a  suspiciously  hostile  light.  That  officer  persuaded  the 
Indians  to  exchange  their  Spanish  flags  for  American,  an  act 
which,  according  to  Foronda's  logic,  signified  a  desire  to  draw 
them  away  from  Spanish  friendship.  This  impression  was 
further  heightened  by  the  impudent  and  boastful  assertion  that 
after  the  following  year  the  Spanish  officials  would  not  be  ner- 
mitted  to  regale  the  Indians  with  flags  and  medals.  In  this  par- 
ticular his  conduct  among  the  Pawnees  was  especially  reprehen- 
sible. Still  more  insulting  to  Spain  was  Pike's  assurance,  upon 
which  he  staked  his  life  and  honor,  that  he  could  successfully  con- 
duct a  military  force  into  New  Mexico.^^  The  premeditated, 
hostile  spirit  evidenced  by  these  acts  was  confirmed  by  the  testi- 
mony of  one  of  Pike's  soldiers.  When  some  of  them  inquired  of 
him  where  they  were  going,  and  if  they  were  not  already  upon 
Spanish  soil,  his  only  reply  was  an  order  to  advance. 

Foronda  forebore  to  mention  other  complaints  of  the  Spanish 
government  against  Pike's  conduct,  but  again  emphasized  its  gen- 
erosity in  dealing  with  him.  He  closed  this  portion  of  his  missive 
by  stating  that  His  Majesty  would  not  extend  the  same  clemency 
to  future  acts  of  this  sort,  but  would  proceed  against  the  delin- 
quents with  all  the  rigor  of  the  laws. 

The  gist  of  the  Spanish  Minister's  communication,  however, 
was  found  in  the  enclosure  which  contained  Salcedo's  itemized 
accounts.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  they  evidence  all  of  the  cus- 
tomary minute  accuracy  to  be  found  in  Spanish  official  documents. 
The  most  captious  critic  could  criticise  little  in  the  regularity  and 
precision  with  which  the  Captain  General  showed  the  cost,  to  the 
royal  treasury,  of  Pike's  unwelcome  visit.  It  was  not  the  form 
but  the  content  of  this  carefully-itemized,  duly-attested  account 
that  raised  an  insuperable  difficulty  in  its  reception. 

The  most  important  single  division  of  the  account  was  that 
furnished  by  Governor  Allencaster  of  New  Mexico.  This  in- 
cluded the  expenses  of  the  party  that  arrested  Pike  and  conducted 
him  and  his  men  to  Chihuahua,  together  with  a  minute  detail  of 
all  articles  furnished  either  the  Americans  or  their  captors,  and 
repairs  to  their  necessary  equipments.  This  in  itself  would  not 
have  amounted  to  a  very  large  sum,  but  in  addition  Allencaster 


12.     See  paofes  122,  123. 

139 


included  the  expenses  of  eight  additional  parties,  ranging  in  num- 
ber from  33  to  205  men,  who  at  various  dates  between  April  18 
and  August  12,  1807,  scoured  the  frontier  in  search  of  other  pos- 
sible intruders.  At  least  the  Governor  states  that  they  did.  The 
account  appears  absolutely  correct — on  paper — and  Allencaster 
added  to  its  credibility  by  crediting  Pike  with  $41  from  the  sale 
of  his  wornout  horses.  But  one  is  tempted  to  entertain  a  few 
doubts  regarding  accounts  so  very  accurately  rendered.  Expe- 
rience with  Spanish  colonial  documents,  especially  of  a  monetary 
character,  leads  one  to  doubt  mere  paper  evidence.  He  naturally 
wonders,  if  all  of  those  parties  were  absent,  who  were  left  at  home 
to  carry  on  the  ordinary  occupations  of  life  and  guard  the  settle- 
ments of  the  Rio  Grande  valley  against  the  ever-hostile  Apaches. 
If  these  scouting  expeditions  actually  took  place,  one  may  infer 
that  nearly  every  able-bodied  man  in  the  province  had  the  oppor- 
tunity to  take  a  holiday  excursion  in  the  mountains,  with  the  ex- 
pectation that  the  United  States  would  pay  the  cost. 

Evidently  a  long  silence  on  the  part  of  Jefferson  and  Madison 
followed  the  presentation  of  Salcedo's  claim.  Jefferson  beHeved 
that  Foronda  was  simply  using  Pike,  as  well  as  Miranda,  to  justify 
Spanish  intrigues  in  the  Mobile  and  Sabine  region.  In  May  he 
wrote  Madison^^  that  the  truth  concerning  Pike's  mission  might 
be  so  simply  stated  as  to  show  that  his  presence  on  the  Rio  del 
Norte  was  a  mere  error  which  should  call  for  setting  him  right 
instead  of  forcing  him  through  the  interior  of  Mexico.  This  did 
not  imply  a  censure  of  Madison's  way  of  expressing  this  truth,  so 
much  as  impatience  at  Foronda's  frivolous  complaints  and  argu- 
ments. There  was  certainly  enough  that  was  serious  in  the  cir- 
cumstances of  Pike's  expedition,  but  the  Spanish  minister  had 
failed  adequately  to  follow  up  his  first  presentation  of  this  fact. 

By  June  3,  t8o8,  Foronda  became  impatient  and  broke  the  sil- 
ence of  two  months  by  requesting^  ^  a  reply  to  his  itemized  state- 
ment. On  November  26,  he  intimated^'^  that  he  did  not  wish  to 
keep  asking  for  this,  but  that  he  should  consider  no  reply  to  him- 
self as  no  reply  to  His  Sovereign,  and  so  notify  his  court.     Two 

13.  Ford,  Writings  of  Jefferso7i,  IX,  24,  195,  196. 

14.  Foronda  to  Madison,  June  3,  1808,  Spanish  Notes.  II.  Bureau  of 
Indexes  and  Archives. 

15.  rbid,  Nov.  26,  1808. 

140 


days  later,  however,  he  had  to  break  his  self-imposed  silence  by 
submitting^  some  additional  accounts  from  Salcedo.^^  The  prev- 
ious claim  had  included  Pike's  expenses  only  to  San  Antonio, 
Texas.  The  Captain  General  now  forwarded  the  duly  attested 
itemized  accounts  incurred  in  conducting  Pike  from  that  place  to 
Natchitoches,  and  also  the  cost  of  maintaining  the  interpreter  and 
four  soldiers  still  remaining  in  the  interior.  Accompanying  this 
was  a  statement  of  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  the  personal  ef- 
fects of  Robinson  and  Pike.  From  the  papers  it  appeared  that 
their  belongings,  remaining  in  New  Mexico,  were  carefully  valued 
by  a  committee  of  three,  and  then  offered  for  sale.  The  proceeds 
were  only  some  $47,  and  this  added  to  the  result  from  the  sale  of 
the  wornout  horses,  with  their  trappings,  gave  the  American  side 
a  credit  of  $109.  but  left  the  total  on  the  Spanish  side  at  $22,064.38, 
with  other  items  to  be  added  for  the  expenses,  since  May  8,  of  the 
men  still  detained  in  Mexico. 

In  the  sale  of  Pike's  effects  his  theodolite  was  found  to  be 
broken  and  attracted  no  purchasers.  The  astronomical  instru- 
m.ents  that  so  greatly  aroused  Spanish  fears  met  with  the  same 
fate.  Salcedo  took  occasion  to  justify  his  expense  account,  which 
he  understood  had  met  with  opposition  from  the  American  author- 
ities, on  the  ground  that  he  feared  other  incursions,  and  that  those 
who  contributed  to  it  were  called  away  from  their  usual  occupa- 
tions. Aside  from  these  items,  after  deducting  the  money  re- 
ceived from  selling  Pike's  effects,  there  still  remained  a  balance  of 
$1,470.37  representing  the  money  and  goods  actually  furnished 
Pike  and  his  party  on  their  return  to  the  United  States. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  Jefferson  was  willing  to  pay  the  last 
sum  mentioned,  and  had  already  given  orders  to  that  effect.^"^  It 
was,  however,  simply  out  of  the  question  for  him  to  consider  the 
payment  of  the  rest  of  this  preposterous  claim;  and  we  have  no 
evidence  that  the  Spanish  minister  persisted  in  urging  it.  Foronda 
later  mentioned  Pike's  boasting  in  a  letter  of  recriminations, 
directed  to  Madison's  Secretary  of  State,  Robert  Smith. ^^  The 
explorer's  journey  in  western  Louisiana  likewise  formed  one  of  the 


16.  Ibid,  Nov.  28,  1808. 

17.  See  page  136. 

18.  Foronda  to  R.  Smith,  Sept.  26,  1809,  Spanish  Notes,  II,  Bureau 
of  Indexes  and  Archives,  Department  of  State. 

141 


items  of  a  Spanish  memoir,^^  charging  the  United  States  with  bad 
faith  in  its  dealings  with  Spain.  One  of  the  specifications  of 
Article  4,  of  the  Treaty  of  February  22,  18 19,  was  to  the  effect  that 
Spain  waived  all  claims  growing  out  of  Pike's  unauthorized  incur- 
sion. This  apparently  constituted  the  final  diplomatic  word  relat- 
ing to  the  Jeffersonian  period  of  Louisiana  Exploration. 


19.  The  memoir  is  dated  Dec.  23,  1814,  and  was  evidently  intended 
for  Ferdinand  VII.  A  translation  is  found  in  the  volume  entitled  Leiiers 
in  Relation  to  Burr'^s  Conspiracy^  Bureau  of  Rolls  and  Library,  Depart- 
ment of  State. 


'¥0^- 


142 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSION. 

The  task  of  summarizing  the  results  of  four  years  of  Jeffer- 
sonian  exploration  need  not  be  a  lengthy  one.  The  main  features 
of  each  separate  expedition  have  been  given  in  the  appropriate 
chapters,  so  that  there  remains  merely  the  grouping  of  some  of  the 
more  significant  of  these  features  under  the  headings  suggested  by 
Jefferson's  instructions. 

In  a  scientific  way  the  results  of  these  various  explorations) 
were  disappointingly  meagre,  even  when  judged  by  the  modest 
standards  of  the  day.  Lewis  and  Clark,  it  is  true,  did  not  obtain 
full  credit  for  what  they  actually  accomplished  in  this  particular. 
In  the  first  place,  eight  years  passed  before  the  appearance  of  the 
summarized  edition  of  their  journals,  prepared  by  Paul  Allen  and 
Nicholas  Biddle,  and  usually  bearing  the  name  of  the  latter.  Then 
from  this  edition  all  botanical  and  zoological  details  were  omitted, 
with  the  idea  of  incorporating  them  in  a  separate  study  to  be  pre- 
pared by  Dr.  Barton.  But  the  Doctor  died  before  this  was  com- 
pleted, and  the  scientific  details  of  the  most  important  of  these  ex- 
peditions thus  remained  unknown  to  the  general  public  until  the 
recent  publications  of  Dr.  Elliot  Coues  and  Dr.  Reuben  G. 
Thwaites.  Dunbar  very  frankly  wrote  the  President  that  the^ 
scientific  results  of  the  Washita  tour  were  almost  nil.  They  did 
discover  a  new  variety  of  the  wild  cabbage,  but  the  season  was 
unfavorable  for  botanical  research.  Still  his  journal  and  that  of 
Dr.  Hunter  abound  in  the  results  of  accurate  scientific  observa- 
tion; but  this  has  largely  remained  hidden  in  their  original  journals 
or  in  the  government  report  which  summarized  their  contents. 
However,  the  naturalist  Nuttall  afterward  testified  to  the  import- 
ance of  their  work.  . 

Pike  was  hardly  fitted  for  a  scientific  explorer,  while  his  many 
commissions  and  resultant  duties  prevented  him  from  making  the 
best  of  his  limited  natural  abilities.  The  result  of  his  work  was 
rather  to  arouse  general  public  interest  in  his  field  than  to  satisfy 
the  demands  of  scholars.     The  summarized  journal  of  the  Free- 

.     143 


man  and  Custis  expedition  abounds  in  botanical  details,  but  it  is 
doubtful  if  these  ever  became  current.  Hunter  and  Dunbar  seem 
to  have  accomplished  the  best  results  in  a  mineralogical  way, 
although  the  region  they  visited  was  far  less  important  than  the 
upper  waters  of  the  Missouri  and  of  the  Arkansas,  where  Lewis 
and  Pike  operated.  All  of  the  explorers  seem  to  have  taken  de- 
tailed meterorological  observations,  those  of  Dunbar  being  partic- 
ularly noteworthy.  All  likewise  took  observations  of  the  latitude 
and  longitude  of  the  important  places;  but  the  accuracy  of  their 
observations  is  often  open  to  reasonable  doubt. 

From  a  geographical  standpoint  the  expeditions  accomplished 
^ore,  for  their  work  constituted  tlie  basis  of  western  cartography 
for  the  next  two  decades.  It  is  true  that  the  statements  and  con- 
jecures  of  the  explorers.,  such  as  those  embodied  in  the  so-called 
"Lewis  map  of  r<So6/'^  were  often  founded  upon  insufficient  infor- 
mation derived  from  Indians  or  irresponsible  traders.  It  is  equally 
true  that  imagination,  ambition,  or  inexact  reports  sometimes  lee 
them  to  make  extravagant  claims,  such  as  Pike's  contention  thai 
he  had  penetrated  to  the  source  of  the  ^Mississippi,  or  that  by  thj 
Arkansas  and  the  Rio  Colorado  could  be  found  the  best  communj 
cation  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  this  side  of  Darienf 
Lewis  and  Clark  were  equally  astray  in  emphasizing  the  import- 
ance of  Marias  River,  and  in  locating  the  sources  of  the  Multo- 
nomah  near  those  of  the  Rio  Grande  and  the  Missouri.  Tliis 
caused  another  popular  misconception  regarding  a  possible  water- 
way to  the  Pacific  and  later  perplexed  the  negotiations  of 
John  Quincy  Adams  with  Don  Luis  De  Onis.^  These  explorers 
may  also  have  been  slightly  mistaken  in  mdicating  the  point  of 
highest  white  exploration  on  the  Missouri;  and  their  commenta- 
tors, until  recently,  certainly  were  in  assigning  to  them  the  credit 
of  first  using  the  English  term,  ''Yellowstone."  They  probably 
criticised  too  severely  the  previous  explorations  of  Fidler  and  of 
David  Thompson. 

The  Washita  and  Red  River  explorers  operated  in  a  limited 


1.  Cones,  Lewis  and  Clark,  I,  222,  note  4.     Map  in  pocket  of  Index. 
The  atlas  of  the  Thwaites  edition  will  also  contain  the  map. 

2.  Coues,  Pike,  II,  522. 

3.  Adams,  Memoirs,  W,  passim;  Am.  State  Papers,  For.  ReL,  IV, 
passim . 

144 


field  and  recorded  little  beyond  personal  observation.  As  a  result 
of  the  explorations  of  the  whole  period,  we  may  say  that  the  Pres- 
ident and  his  advisers,  and  later  the  reading  public,  secured  a  very 
satisfactory  survey  of  the  upper  Mississippi,  the  Missouri,  the 
Osage,  the  Arkansas  (through  Lieutenant  James  B.  Wilkinson,  as 
well  as  through  Pike),  the  Red  for  some  600  miles  (its  source  re- 
maining undiscovered  until  near  the  middle  of  the  century),  and 
the  Washita.  In  addition  they  had  secured  information,  of  not  very 
great  reliability,  concerning  most  of  the  important  tributaries  of 
these  rivers.  On  the  whole  they  had  secured  a  reasonable  amount 
of  data,  for  use  in  compiling  the  President's  ''skeleton  map"  of  our 
new  territorial  possession. 

From  an  international  standpoint  Jefferson's  early  Louisiana 
exploration  accomplished  much  both  favorable  and  unfavorable. 
Whether  this  exploration,  except  in  the  case  of  Oregon,  extended 
the  limits  to  which  the  United  States  might  justly  lay  claim,  is 
doubtful,  but  it  certainly  strengthened  its  sovereignty  within  ter- 
ritory which  a  reasonable  interpretation  gave  it.  Lewis  and  Clark 
on  the  Missouri,  and  Pike  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  held  very 
agreeable  relations  with  the  British  fur  traders  who  frequented 
this  region,  and  drew  from  them  unqualified  expressions  acknowl- 
edging the  American  right  to  sovereignty  over  the  soil  and  regu- 
lation of  the  Indian  traffic.  Jefferson  in  his  annual  message  com- 
mending Pike,  was  at  first  inclined  to  state  that  his  mission 
strengthened  our  claim  to  the  4Qth  parallel  as  the  northern  boun- 
dary of  Louisiana ;  but  he  desisted  upon  the  advice  of  Madison  \ 
that  by  so  doing  he  might  unnecessarily  arouse  British  ire."*  By 
1807  the  North  West  Company  abandoned  its  Missouri  trade,  and 
in  18 16  the  British  fur  traders,  except  in  a  subordinate  capacity, 
were  excluded  from  the  American  soil.^  Lewis  and  Clark  and 
Pike  certainly  contributed  to  this  result. 

It  is  hard  to  say  just  what  effect  Pike's  Southwest  tour  had 
upon  international  affairs — at  least  from  a  diplomatic  standpoint. 
His  detention  and  the  ensuing  expenses  certainly  aroused  diplo- 
matic mention,  which  might  have  become  serious,  had  the  Spanish 


4.  Ford,  Writings  of  Jefferson,  VIII,  484. 

5.  Chittenden,  Hist.  Am.  Fur.  Trade, 1,  310;  Cones, /cw/'.  of  Alex. 
Henry,  I,  345,  note. 

145 


representative  handled  the  matter  more  skillfully.  His  raising 
of  the  American  flag  on  the  Rio  Grande  may  have  served,  in  some 
manner,  to  neutralize  the  effect  of  the  Malgares  raid;  while  his 
very  audacity  in  so  acting  may  have  secured  from  the  Spaniards 
more  respectful  treatment  than  they  were  wont  to  bestow  upon 
authorized  intruders.  But  the  motives  of  Wilkinson,  Pike's  prin- 
cipal, were  of  such  a  mixed  commercial  and  political  nature,  and 
withal  so  sinister,  that  it  is  impossible  to  give  a  proper  interna- 
tional interpretation  to  this  expedition.  We  are  certainly  safe  in 
saying  that  the  filibustering  element  of  the  Southwest,  whether 
directed  in  aid  of  Mexican  revolution  or  for  personal  aggrandize- 
ment, was  greatly  stimulated  by  Pike's  publications.  Wilkinson 
clearly  foresaw  this  and  warned  Pike  against  a  premature  publica- 
tion of  the  results  of  his  journey,  because  of  the  danger  of  exciting 
**a  spirit  of  adventure  adverse  to  the  interests  of  our 
government."^ 

The  Plunter-Dunbar  expedition  had,  of  course,  little  interna- 
tional importance.  This  element,  in  the  Freeman  expedition, 
might  have  been  highly  significant,  had  not  the  prudent  retreat  of 
that  leader,  when  confronted  by  a  Spanish  force,  removed  such  a 
possibility.  This  encounter  provoked  a  vigorous  protest  from 
Governor  Clairborne  and  an  equally  vigorous  rejoinder  from 
Salcedo;  but  there  is  no  evidence  at  present  extant  to  show  that 
their  respective  superiors  followed  up  their  correspondence  in  any 
adquate  manner.  Doubtless  Jefferson  was  then  too  interested  in 
bringing  to  a  successful  issue  his  purchase  of  the  Floridas,  through 
Napoleon's  aid,  and  the  settlement  of  other  important  diplomatic 
questions  with  Spain,  to  imperil  these  affairs  by  a  vigorous  protest 
against  the  stopping  of  even  one  of  his  cherished  exploring  expe- 
ditions. His  efforts  at  home,  as  shown  by  his  annual  message, 
seem  directed  toward  concealing  the  real  failure  of  the  expedition. 

If  one  were  to  judge  from  the  amount  of  space  devoted  to  our 
prospective  savage  allies,  both  in  the  instructions  and  in  the  jour- 
nals, it  would  seem  that  the  work  of  these  early  explorers  should 
have  greatly  influenced  the  Indian  policy  of  the  American  govern- 
ment. That  the  contrary  result  was  true  was  due  to  the  inaction 
of  the  Washington  authorities,  rather  than  to  any  lack  in  the  efforts 
or  recommendations  of  the  explorers  themselves.     Both  Lewis 


6.     Coues,  Pike^  II,  826. 

146 


and  Pike  composed  worthy  memoirs  upon  the  Indian  trade.  Some 
of  their  suggestions  regarding  the  exclusion  of  foreigners  from  its 
enjoyment  were  adopted  years  after,  but  no  efficient  means  were 
taken  to  prevent  unauthorized  trading  on  the  part  of  American 
citizens.  Pike,  too,  preached  far  better  than  he  practiced  in  the 
matter  of  giving  whisky  to  the  natives. 

Upon  certain  Indians  the  explorers  seem  to  have  made  a  defi- 
nite impression.  This  was  true  of  Lewis  and  Clark  among  the 
Mandans.  Although  at  first  somewhat  suspicious,  these  natives 
came  to  regard  the  Americans  in  a  favorable  light,  during  the 
course  of  the  long  winter  sojourn.  They  appreciated  the  black- 
smith of  the  party,  even  if  they  could  not  understand  the  proper 
use  of  the  corn  mill  presented  to  them.  They  wore  American 
medals  and  displayed  the  American  flag,  even  when  British  traders 
visited  them.  Some  of  the  neighboring  tribes,  however,  distrusted 
the  "medicine"  of  the  medals,  and  were  reported  by  a  British  trader 
as  disgusted  with  the  high-sounding  language  of  the  Americans.'' 
Few  of  the  Indians  could  penetrate  the  design  of  the  Americans 
in  attempting  to  record  their  words,  and  this  practice  they  regarded 
with  suspicion.  In  general  we  may  say  that  Lewis  and  Clark's 
stay  among  the  Mandans  was  beneficial  to  explorers  and  Indians 
alike.  These  men  apparently  made  a  stronger  impression  than  any 
other  of  the  expeditions  made  upon  a  single  tribe,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  Freeman  among  the  Caddoes  and  Coashuttas.  It  is 
doubtful,  of  course,  if  Freeman  did  not  mar  this  impression  by 
yielding  to  the  Spanish  force  sent  to  oppose  him.  At  any  rate  we 
later  find  that  the  Caddo  chief  received  commissions  and  medals 
from  the  Spaniards,  although  he  volunteered  with  his  warriors  for 
the  defense  of  New  Orleans  against  the  British.^ 

Pike's  own  account  of  his  dealings  with  the  Indians  seems  to 
show  that  he  v/as  uniformly  successful;  yet  in  the  one  treaty  of 
this  period  for  which  he  was  responsible,  there  was  a  great  deal  of 
underhand  work,  and  on  other  occasions  a  careful  reading  between 
the  lines  would  show  that  the  Sioux  and  Chippewa  chiefs  were 
''working"  the  ambitious  young  officer.  Pike's  course  among  the 
Osages  and  Pawnees  was  brave,  even  to  rashness,  and  it  is  probable 


7.  Coues,  Journal  of  Alex.  Henry,  I,  349,  350. 

8.  Miles  Register,  XIX,  133,  Oct  28,  1820. 


147 


that  his  bearing-  went  far  to  counteract  the  effect  of  Malgares'  in- 
cursion. His  colleague,  Lieutenant  James  B.  Wilkinson,  at- 
tempted to  supplement  his  efforts  by  recommending  a  trading 
house  among  the  Osages.  Perhaps  the  temporary  establishment 
known  as  Fort  Osage  was  in  part  due  to  his  policy.  Sibley's  im- 
portant work  was,  of  course,  among  Indians;  and  if  we  may  be- 
lieve the  reports  of  his  enemies  he  was  reasonably  successful  in 
attaching  them  to  the  American  cause — at  least  during  the  period 
in  question. 

In  one  important  particular  the  efforts  of  all  these  explorers 
were,  as  might  be  expected,  utterly  futile.  Disregarding  natural 
conditions,  Jefferson  had  conceived  the  idea  that  peace  was  the 
most  desirable  state  for  his  untutored  savage  children.  With  in- 
sufficient military  strength  to  enforce  his  system,  its  failure  was  a 
certainty.  The  utmost  efforts  of  Lewis  and  Clark  and  of  Pike 
could  not  bring  about  a  permanent  peace  between  the  Sioux  and 
the  Chippewas.  Lewis  and  Clark  upon  their  home  journey  found 
that  the  tribes  of  the  Sioux  that  had  less  than  two  years  before 
agreed  to  bury  the  hatchet  with  the  Mandans  and  kindred  tribes, 
again  at  war  with  them.  Nor  was  their  second  attempt  to  patch 
up  a  peace,  although  accompanied  by  salutary  warnings,  more 
effective  than  the  first.  Not  merely  Indian  allies,  but  also  Amer- 
ican traders  and  army  officers  were  finally  brought  to  realize  the 
treacherous  and  utterly  hostile  character  of  the  Sioux.  Pike's 
efforts  among  the  Osages,  Pawnees,  and  Kansas  were  not  more 
successful,  for  interested  traders  continually  interfered  to  provoke 
the  mutually  hostile  spirit  of  these  tribes.  Pike  never  reached  the 
Comanches  in  his  mission  to  bring  about  a  peace  between  them  and 
the  Pawnees.  Possibly  if  Freeman's  expedition  had  succeeded  in 
its  original  intention  to  ascend  to  the  Pawnees  and  this  had  been 
supplemented  by  Pike's  efforts  among  these  same  Indians,  more 
substantial  results  would  have  been  achieved  in  the  Southwest. 
But  no  permanent  peace  could  have  been  maintained  without  an 
adequate  military  force  to  restrain  unscrupulous  traders  and  restive 
Indians. 

If  a  hollow  peace,  shortly  to  be  followed  by  more  atrocious 
hostilities  was  the  only  result  of  their  negotiations  among  the 
Indians  themselves,  it  is  hardly  likely  that  the  latter  would  regard 
with  increased  respect  the  government  that  brought  about  this 

148 


peace.  But  little  effort  was  made  to  follow  up  these  negotiations 
by  an  effective  military  display  that  would  increase  the  confidence 
of  the  Indians  in  the  American  government  and  insure  its  traders 
adequate  regulation  and  protection.  On  the  contrary,  in  many 
rases,  the  government  had  to  depend  upon  the  fur  traders  to 
further  its  Indian  relations,  with  the  natural  restuit  that  its  policy 
was  twisted  to  serve  the  ends  of  private  individuals.  An  in- 
stance to  !;he  point  seems  to  he  afforded  by  the  fact  that  the  Amer- 
ican government  approached  the  Osage  Indians  through  Chouteau 
rather  than  De  Lisa.  Lieutenant  Wilkinson  also  made  the  charge 
that  the  wrong  chief  was  often  selected  as  the  recipient  of  medals ; 
that  these  medals  were  not  showy  enough  in  make-up;  and  that 
too  many  of  them  were  distributed  to  preserve  their  true  value. 
In  general,  the  policy  of  the  British  agents  and  even  of  the  Spanish 
colonial  officers,  appears  much  more  effective  than  the  efforts  of 
Jefferson  and  his  immediate  successors. 

In  brief,  it  may  be  said  that  Jefferson's  Indian  policy  was  \ 
largely  a  failure ;  that  these  explorations  added  to  awkward  inter- 
national complications ;  that  the  geographical  data  gathered  by  his  I 
agents  were  fairly  complete,  but  occasionally  misleading ;  and  that 
the  store  of  scientific  knowledge  acquired  by  them  was  neither  , 
great  nor  readily  available.  In  addition,  Jefferson's  particular 
plan  for  the  exploration  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  was  almost  a 
complete  failure,  although  this  result  was  partly  due  to  Spanish 
opposition.  In  part  only,  the  writer  thinks,  for  there  seemed  to 
be  a  lack  of  practical  knowledge  and  of  hearty  co-opertion  among 
those  concerned  in  this  particular  phase  of  the  exploration  that 
would  have  prevented  success,  even  against  mere  natural  obstacles. 
Consequently  the  most  successful  expeditions  for  Louisiana  explor- 
ation were  the  one  conceived  by  the  President  for  another  purpose, 
and  those  planned  without  previous  consultation  by  his  subordinate 
Wilkinson,  for  his  own  ulterior  purposes. 

Yet,  despite  so  many  discouraging  features,  there  were  com- 
pensating gains.       Lewis  and  Clark,  within  the  Louisiana.- Pixr-t^. 
chase,  emphasized,  if  they  did  not  point  out,  the  great  fur  trade!    >^ 
route  to  the  Northwest.     This  emphasizing,  as  has  already  been? 
shown,  was  bearing  fruit,  even  upon  their  return  journey.     Pikd 
strengthened  our  claim  to  Upper  Louisiana  and  pointed  out  thi  I 
great  commercial  route  from  Missouri  to  New  Mexico — a  rout* 

149 


een? 


which  afterwards  became  a  historic  highway  in  the  economic  and 
military  conquest  of  the  Southwest.  Dunbar,  Hunter,  Freeman, 
and  Sibley  probably  hastened  the  occupation  of  the  region  they 
explored ;  for  within  a  decade  the  squatter  and  more  pretentious 
settler  were  already  firmly  established  there  and  encroaching  upon 
the  rights  of  our  recently  adopted  native  wards.  Thus  there  were 
tangible  results  to  show  for  the  modest  $10,500  expended  in  border 
exploration.  But  it  was  the  fur  trader  and  the  pioneer  settler, 
rather  than  the  casual  explorer,  who  really  opened  up  our  great 
West  and  made  the  Louisiana  Purchase  an  important  element  in 
our  national  strength. 

The  rewards,  both  immediate  and  remote^  obtained  by  the  ex- 
plorers varied  greatly.  Lewis  and  Clark  bore  regular  army  com- 
missions and  received  the  pay  due  their  rank.  In  addition,  through 
leflferson's  personal  influence,  they  and  their  followers  received 
land  grants.  Pike  likewise  was  an  army  officer,  but  as  his  most 
influential  patron  was  Wilkinson,  no  land  grants  were  forthcoming 
to  himself  and  men.  Dunbar,  Hunter,  and  Freeman,  while  actu- 
ally engaged  in  work,  apparently  received  a  small  salary  in  addi- 
tion to  expenses.  But  this  did  not  exceed  the  rate  of  $1,000  per 
annum — the  amount  likewise  of  Sibley's  salary  as  Indian  agent. 
Of  j^rse  Dunbar  was  a  wealthy  Mississippi  planter  and  Sibley  a 
LoiiiRna  ranchman,  while  Hunter  was  a  physician  with  an  estab- 
lished practice.  Of  Freeman  little  is  known  aside  from  the  fact 
that  h^vas  a  practical  surveyor.  Lewis  and  Clark,  however, 
seem  to  have  been  the  only  ones  well  cared  for  in  a  material  and 
political  way,  although  in  his  military  profession  Pike  was  ad- 
vanced with  sufficient  rapidity. 

In  a  literary  way  Dunbar  held,  and  retained,  an  established 
reputation  as  a  scientist  of  more  than  local  reputation,  but  his 
work  as  explorer  added  little  to  this  reputation.  Hunter,  Free- 
man, and  Sibley  are  unknown  names  in  either  the  scientific  or  the 
historical  department  of  letters.  Lewis,  Clark,  and  Pike  have 
fared  better  at  the  hands  of  the  historical  muse.  There  has  been 
a  series  of  ups  and  downs  in  the  contrasted  careers  of  the  insepara- 
ble pair  and  of  their  path-breaking  rival.  The  reputations  of  the 
former,  with  such  a  patron  as  the  President,  were  assured,  and  the 
early  meagre  reports  of  their  work  attracted  wide  attention.  But 
Pike  was  first  in  the  literary  market  with  the  published  account  of 

150 


his  travels,  and  his  book  was  fortunate  in  appealing  to  the  public 
at  the  proper  moment.  The  age  of  the  combined  Mexican  revolu- 
tionist and  of  the  American  filibuster,  of  which  class  his  colleague, 
Robinson,  was  a  good  example;  was  deeply  affected  by  Pike's  illum- 
inating, even  if  illogical,  pages;  and  for  three  decades  after  the 
publication  of  his  book — decades  during-  which  Mexico  became 
independent,  Texas  was  settled,  the  Santa  Fe  trade  developed,  and 
California  opened  to  the  civilized  world — he  was  easily  the  com- 
manding figure  of  this  period  of  early  exploration.  With  the 
prominence  of  the  Oregon  question,  and  the  development,  not 
merely  of  the  valley  of  the  Missouri  but  of  the  far  Northwest,  the 
inseparable  explorers  again  forged  to  the  front,  where  they  have 
since  maintained  their  position.  The  question  whether  the  explor- 
ations of  Lewis  and  Clark  or  of  Pike  are  really  the  more  important 
is  one  which  future  historians  only  can  safely  answer.  The  uti- 
mate  development  of  the  great  Northwest  and  the  great  Southwest 
alone  can  offer  the  solution. 

To  whichever  of  the  subordinates  the  palm  for  the  greatest 
American  exploration  is  utimately  awarded,  it  may  reasonably  be 
inferred  that  the  greatest  credit  for  the  movement  must  always  be 
assigned  to  President  Jefferson  himself.  It  was  he  who  originally 
conceived  the  far-reaching  idea,  even  though  in  one  case  his  sub- 
ordinate general  made  use  of  it  to  serve  his  own  particular  pur- 
pose. He  took  a  personal  interest  in  arranging  every  detail  of  the 
work ;  and  although  his  suggestions  often  smacked  of  his  Monti- 
cello  library,  yet  he  was  ready  to  change  and  adapt  his  scheme  to 
fit  practical  conditions.  His  personal  care  was  felt  by  every  subor- 
dinate engaged  in  the  undertaking,  and  the  latter  believed  that 
good  work  on  his  part  would  receive  personal  commendation,  if 
not  more  substantial  reward.  The  President  never  was  satisfied 
until  the  published  results  of  the  expeditions  were  given  the  ut- 
most possible  publicity, and  it  is  no  fault  of  his  that  certain  journals 
have  not  been  better  known  during  the  intervening  century.  He 
was  always  ready  to  solve  the  diplomatic  perplexity  preceding  or 
following  one  of  his  proposed  expeditions,  or  even  when  arising 
from  an  unauthorized  incursion.  Thus  it  is  only  fitting  that  a  study 
devoted  to  this  important  subject  of  Louisiana  exploration,  should 
emphasize  the  personal  influence  of  the  President  whose  scientific 
tastes  demanded  a  careful  survey  of  the  vast  territory  that  fortu- 
nate diplomacy  had  placed  within  his  grasp. 

151 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

I.     ORIGINAL  MANUSCRIPT  SOURCES. 

A.  United  States  Government  Archives. 

1.  Bureau  of  Indexes  and  Archives,  Department  of  State. 
This  bureau  contains  the  files  of  diplomatic  correspondence.  The 
subject  of  Louisiana  exploration  attracted  few  diplomatic  notes, 
so  this  collection  has  been  little  used  in  the  preparation  of  this 
work.  The  volumes  consulted  have  been  Spanish  Notes,  Vols,  i 
and  2,  containing  the  communications  from  Casa  Yrujo  and 
Foronda ;  and  Instructions,  Vol.  6,  containing  two  dispatches  from 
Madison  to  Armstrong  and  Erving. 

2.  Bureau  of  Rolls  and  Library,  Department  of  State.  In  the 
Library  of  the  State  Department,  officially  designated  as  above, 
are  to  be  found  the  six  manuscript  volumes  of  the  Claiborne  Cor- 
respondence. The  volumes  form  a  most  valuable  source  for  the 
histor>'  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  until 
T'Si.?.  While  the  collection  is  largely  made  up  of  Claiborne's  letters 
to  Jefferson,  Madison,  Robert  Smith,  and  Monroe,  there  are  many 
enclosures  composed  of  letters  written  to  Claiborne.  The  young 
governor  seems  to  have  been  somewhat  changeable  in  his  inter- 
pretation of  events,  but  accurate  in  reporting  them.  The  volumes 
also  contain  valuable  miscellaneous  documents. 

3.  Bureau  of  Indian  Affairs,  Department  of  the  Interior. 
While  the  archives  of  this  bureau  contain  comparatively  little 
relating  to  the  Southwestern  Indians,  before  1820,  there  are  a  few 
important  letters  relating  to  frontier  conditions  to  be  found  in  the 
miscellaneous  files ;  and  several,  some  of  which  have  been  used  in 
this  work,  relating  to  Dr.  John  Sibley,  in  the  volume  entitled 
Indian  Office,  Letter  Book  B.  These  letters  throw  some  light 
upon  the  early  dealings  of  our  government  with  the  Southwestern 
Indians. 

B.  Spanish  Archives* 

1 .  Bexar  Archives.  This  valuable  collection  embraces  a  wide 
variety  of  Spanish  colonial  documents,  relating  to  the  Province  of 

153 


Texas,  and  more  particularly  to  San  Antonio,  from  the  early  years 
of  the  eighteenth  century  to  1836.  For  the  purpose  of  this  work 
the  correspondence  of  Captain-General  Nimecio  de  Salcedo,  of  the 
Internal  Provinces  (to  which  group  Texas  belonged),  with  the 
Viceroy  of  New  Spain  and  the  Governor  of  Texas,  and  of  the 
latter  with  the  officials  on  the  Louisiana-Texas  frontier,  was  espe- 
cially valuable.  These  letters  give  the  Spanish  interpretation  of 
events  that  have  usually  been  reported  only  from  the  American 
standpoint.  The  collection  is  in  the  process  of  arrangement  and 
classification,  so  the  separate  documents  are  referred  to  by  name 
and  date  only. 

2.  Nezv  Mexico  Archives.  A  much  less  extensive  collection 
than  the  previous  one,  and  far  less  valuable  in  character,  probably 
owing  to  the  pilfering  of  the  more  important  documents.  Most 
of  those  now  found  in  it  relate  to  the  local  history  of  Santa  Fe.  At 
present  the  collection  is  in  the  Library  of  Congress,  where  it  is 
readily  accessible.  For  the  years  covered  by  this  work  I  found  a 
few  documents  that  were  suggestive,  rather  than  very  important, 
while  with  reference  to  Pike  himself,  I  discovered  but  an  inconse- 
quential reference.  These  documents  serve,  however,  to  supple- 
ment certain  other  collections. 

3.  Archivo  General,  City  of  Mexico.  A  good  description  of 
this  vast  collection  is  contained  in  the  Nation  for  May  30,  1901. 
Doubtless  there  is  buried  within  it  a  great  deal  of  material  relating 
to  Louisiana  exploration,  and  amongst  this  some  future  investi- 
gator may  possibly  discover  the  confiscated  journal  and  papers  of 
Pike.  For  the  present  work  I  have  made  slight  use  of  Volume  43, 
Ramo  de  Historia. 

C    Official  Cotf espondence,  Etc* 

1.  Wilkinson  Papers.  Four  volumes  of  letters  to  and  from 
General  James  Wilkinson  are  now  in  possession  of  the  Chicago 
Historical  Society.  The  letters  are  valuable  in  so  far  as  they  sup- 
plement his  published  Memoirs,  but  they  do  this  to  a  limited  extent 
only.  The  greater  part  of  the  letters  are  written  to  Wilkinson,  but 
those  from  Pikt?  are  conspicuous  by  their  absence. 

2.  Jefferson  Papers.  This  collection  of  137  volumes,  now 
housed  in  the  Library  of  Congress,  and  thoroughly  calendared  in 
Nos.  6,  8,  and  to  of  the  Bulletins  of  the   Bureau  of  Rolls  and 

154 


Library,  is  the  most  important  and  most  available  manuscript 
source  used  in  this  work.  The  details  of  the  arrangements  for 
Louisiana  exploration  can  be  found  nowhere  else.  While  the  col- 
lection as  a  whole  reveals  the  versatility  of  Jefferson's  genius,  his 
instructions  to  the  various  explorers  and  his  correspondence  with 
them  display  a  minute  knowledge  of  the  practical  details  of  wilder- 
ness life  and  of  the  results  to  be  expected  from  systematic  explora- 
tion. Occasionally  it  is  necessary  to  discount  Jefferson's  report 
of  results  obtained  from  the  explorations  he  planned,  but  his  state- 
ment of  details  is  reliable. 

3.  Manuscript  Journal  of  George  Hunter  up  the  Red  and 
Washita  Rivers  zvith  Wm.  Dunbar,  1804,  by  Order  of  U.  S.  and 
up  to  Hot  Springs.  This  is  one  of  the  two  important  sources  for 
the  Hunter-Dunbar  Expedition  of  1804-05.  The  MSS.  is  in  pos- 
session of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia. 
Dr.  Hunter  was  a  shrewd  and  well-trained  observer,  with  the 
power  to  comment  with  interest  upon  what  he  saw.  His  journal 
admirably  supplements  that  of  Dunbar,  and  is  far  more  readable. 


Such  of  these  manuscript  collections  as  are  to  be  found  at 
Washington  are  described  briefly  in  the  Guide  to  the  Archives  of 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  in  Washington,  prepared 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Carnegie  Institution  by  C.  H.  Van  Tyne 
and  W.  G.  Leland.  This  pioneer  Guide,  however,  is  in  many  cases 
little  more  than  a  catalogue,  compiled  from  office  indexes  or  from 
the  designated  titles  of  the  volumes.  Even  with  these  necessary 
limitations,  it  is  very  helpful  and  suggestive ;  but  a  personal  exam- 
ination of  individual  volumes  often  discloses  unexpected  material. 
This  is  particularly  true  of  the  volumes  in  the  Library  of  the  State 
Department,  where  the  binder's  titles  and  the  partial  tables  of  con- 
tents are  often  misleading.  For  the  Bureau  of  Indexes  and 
Archives,  Professor  A.  C.  McLaughlin  has  prepared  a  brief  pre- 
liminary Report  on  the  Diplomatic  Archives  of  the  Department  of 
State,  178(^-1840,  also  published  under  the  auspices  of  the  Carnegie 
Institution. 

A  Report  on  the  Public  Archives  of  Texas,  published  in  the 
Annual  Report  of  the  American  Historical  Association  for  looi, 

155 


page  353,  makes  brief  mention  of  the  Bexar  Archives.  A  more 
complete  description,  prepared  by  the  late  L.  G.  Bugbee,  was  pub- 
lished in  the  University  of  Texas  Record  for  October,  1899.  #'A 
brief  notice  is  likewise  to  be  found  in  the  Quarterly  of  the  Texas 
State  Historical  Association,  VIIL,  277,  378. 

In  addition  to  the  six  volumes  of  the  Claiborne  Correspondence 
in  the  Bureau  of  Rolls  and  Library  at  the  State  Department, 
Washington,  there  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Department  of 
Archives  and  History  of  the  State  of  Mississippi,  the  manuscript 
journals  of  Governor  Claiborne  from  1803  to  18 16 — a  much  more 
complete  set  than  the  one  in  Washington.  The  various  docu- 
ments are  listed  in  the  Third  Annual  Report  of  the  Director  of  the 
Department. 

Although  the  present  work  is  largely  based  upon  manuscript 
sources,  yet  references  have  been  made  to  printed  material,  wher- 
ever possible.  In  the  case  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  and  Pike  expe- 
ditions, the  references  have  been  almost  entirely  of  this  character. 
The  well-known  sources  will  be  listed  without  extended  comment. 


II.     ORIGINAL  PRINTED  SOURCES. 

A.     United  States  Government  Documents* 

1.  American  State  Papers,  {a)  Foreign  Relations  U.  A 
few  military  and  Indian  reports  from  the  Louisiana  frontier. 
{h)  Foreign  Relations  IV.  Casual  reference  to  negotiations  be- 
tween J.  Q.  Adams  and  De  Onis.  (c)  Military  Affairs  I.  Letter 
of  Salcedo  to  Claiborne,  {d^  Miscellaneous  I.  House  report  in 
favor  of  Pike. 

2.  Annals  of  Congress,  (a)  8  Cong.  i.  House  report  in 
favor  of  Louisiana  exploration,  {b)  8  Cong.  2.  Information 
concerning  Louisiana,  ic)  Q  Cong.  2.  Message  transmitting 
Dunbar's  Report  and  Lewis's  Mandan  Letter.  Summary  of  Dun- 
bars  Journal.  Sibley's  letter  describing  the  Red  River,  Sibley's 
Indian  Report.  Second  House  Report,  favoring  Louisiana  ex- 
ploration. 

156 


B.    Works  of  Travel  and  Exploration. 

1.  Thwaites,  R.  G.  Original  Journals  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark 
Expedition  (five  volumes  consulted),  New  York,  1904-05.  Con- 
tains a  few  general  points  not  clearly  brought  out  in  the  abridg- 
ment of  Nicholas  Biddle.  Valuable  chiefly  for  the  scientific  data 
now  made  available,  and  for  the  footnotes. 

2.  Coues,  Elliot.  History  of  the  Expedition  of  Lewis  and 
Clark,  New  York,  1893.  The  Biddle  abridgement,  illustrated  by  a 
wealth  of  footnotes  derived  from  the  Original  Journals  (Mss.) 
and  other  sources. 

3.  Gass,  Patrick.  A  Journal  of  the  Voyages  and  Travels  of 
a  Corps  of  Discovery,  Pittsburg,  1807.  Interesting  for  occasional 
comments  which  have  been  generally  utilized  in  the  footnotes  of 
the  two  preceding  works. 

4.  Dunbar,  William.  The  Exploration  of  the  Red,  the  Black, 
and  the  Washita  Rivers,  in  Documents  Relating  to  the  Purchase 
and  Exploration  of  Louisiana,  Boston,  1904.  In  this  volume 
Dunbar's  journal  first  appears  in  print  in  complete  form.  It  is  the 
first  accurate  scientific  description  of  the  region  traversed. 

5.  Freeman,  Thomas,  and  Custis,  Peter.  Account  of  the  Red 
River  in  Louisiana,  Drawn  up  from  the  Returns  of  Messrs.  Free- 
man &  Custis,  to  the  War  Office  of  the  United  States,  Who  Ex- 
plored the  Same,  in  the  year  t8o6,  found  in  Library  of  Congress, 
Miscellaneous  Pamphlets,  Vol.  86 1,  No.  8.  This  pamphlet  is  ap- 
parently based  upon  the  original  journals  of  the  explorers,  which, 
if  still  extant  in  the  archives  of  the  War  Department,  are  not  now 
available.  A  manuscript  copy  of  the  pamphlet  is  also  in  posses- 
sion of  the  Library  of  Congress.  The  scientific  description  of  the 
lower  Red  River  is  an  excellent  supplement  to  Sibley's  cursory 
account.  The  Indian  relations  of  the  expedition  and  the  encoun- 
ter with  the  Spaniards  are  graphically  described. 

6.  James,  E.  J.  Account  of  an  Expedition  from  Pittsburg 
to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  etc.,  Philadelphia,  1823.  Volume  II. 
contains  a  brief  summary  of  the  Freeman  Expedition,  apparently 
based  on  the  above  pamphlet,  although  the  author  states  that  he 
saw  the  original  journals  of  Freeman  and  Custis  in  the  files  of 
the  War  Department. 

157 


7-  Pike,  Z.  M.  Account  of  Expeditions  to  the  Sources  of  the 
Mississippi  and  Through  the  Western  Parts  of  Louisiana,  etc., 
Philadelphia,  1810.  The  first  complete  edition  of  Pike's  journals, 
prepared  under  the  personal  supervision  of  the  author,  but  in  a 
most  confusing-  and  perplexing  manner.  The  author  states  that 
on  account  of  the  seizure  of  his  papers  by  the  Spaniards,  he  had 
to  supply  part  of  the  notes  for  his  Southwestern  tour  from 
memory. 

8.  Coues,  Elliott.  The  Expeditions  of  Zebulon  Montgomery 
Pike,  New  York,  1895.  A  more  satisfactory  edition  of  the  above, 
rearranged,  annotated,  and  indexed.     Preferable  for  reference. 

9.  Coues,  Elliot.  The  Journals  of  Alexander  Henry,  New 
York,  1899.  Affords  some  light  on  the  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedi- 
tion. 

10.  Jefferson,  Thomas.  The  Limits  and  Bounds  of  Louisi- 
ana, in  Documents  Relating  to  the  Purchase  and  Exploration  of 
Louisiana,  Boston,  1904.  Contains  Jefferson's  views  upon  the 
extent  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  but  largely  based  upon  obsolete 
authorities 

11.  Robin,  C.  C.  Voyages  dans  LTntereur  de  la  Louisiane, 
etc.,  Paris,  1807  (?)•  Volume  IL  contains  an  important  memoir 
upon  the  limits  of  Louisiana.  There  are  some  interesting  obser- 
vations upon  the  events  of  early  American  possession  of  that  ter- 
ritory. 

12.  Schultz,  Christian.  Travels  on  an  Inland  Voyage,  etc., 
Philadelphia,  1810.  Makes  an  interesting  comment  on  Pike's 
journey. 

13.  Hutchins,  Thomas.  Historical,  Narrative,  and  Topo- 
graphical Description  of  Louisiana  and  West  Florida,  Philadel- 
phia, 1784.     Casual  reference  only. 

14.  Romans,  Bernard.  A  Concise  Natural  History  of  East 
and  West  Florida,  etc.,  New  York,  1775.     Casual  reference  only. 

15.  Gould,  George.     A  General  Description  of Pro7^ 

ince  of  West  Florida,  1769.     MSS.,  American  Philosophical  So- 

158 


ciety,  Philadelphia.  Although  not  in  printed  form,  it  is  mentioned 
at  this  point  in  the  bibliography  because  not  meriting  a  fuller  de- 
scription among  the  manuscript  sources. 

G    Memoirs  and  General  Correpondence* 

1.  Wilkinson.  Memoirs  of  My  Time,  3  vols.,  Philadelphia, 
1 8 16.  Volume  II.,  Appendix,  contains  some  references  to  the 
Southwest.  Volume  I.  has  several  important  letters  relating  to 
Nolan. 

2.  Adams,  J.  Q.  Memoirs,  12  vols.,  Philadelphia,  1874-77. 
Volume  IV.  has  been  castually  noticed,  with  reference  to  the  Mul- 
tonomah  and  the  negotion  with  De  Onis. 

3.  Quarterly  of  the  Texas  State  Historical  Association,  Vol. 
VII.,  308-317.  Contains  some  correspondence  relating  to  Philip 
Nolan. 

4.  Ford,  P.  L.  Writings  of  Jefferson,  10  vols.,  New  York, 
1898-1902.  The  most  important  printed  collection  of  Jefferson's 
writings. 

5.  Washintgon,  B.  The  Writings  of  Jefferson,  9  vols., 
Washington,  1853-54.     Practically  superseded  by  the  above. 

6.  Memorial  Edition,  Works  of  Jefferson.  A  few  letters  not 
found  elsewhere  in  print. 

D.  Periodical  Liter at«rc» 

1.  Literary  Magazine  and  Annual  Register.  Vol.  VI.,  173- 
174.     Contains  a  letter  of  Sibley. 

2.  Baltimore  Telegraphe  and  Daily  Advertiser,  March  22, 
1806.     Casual  references  to  frontier  conditions. 

3.  Nilcs  Register,  October  28,  1820.  Mention  of  the  Caddo 
Indians. 

4.  Louisiana  Herald,  May  5,  1821.  Mention  of  return  of 
William  Meek,  a  member  of  Pike's  party. 

E.  Atlas. 

JefFery.  American  Atlas,  etc.,  London,  1776.  Used  to  iden- 
tify certain  tributaries  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri. 

159 


III.     SECONDARY  SOURCES. 

1.  Adams,  Henry.  History  of  the  United  States,  9  vols., 
New  York,  1889-91.  Important  for  the  period,  but  little  used  for 
this  particular  subject. 

2.  McCaleb,  W.  F.  The  Aaron  Burr  Conspiracy,  New  York, 
1904.     Important  for  the  relations  between  Wilkinson  and  Burr. 

3.  Gayarre.  History  of  Louisiana,  American  Domination, 
New  Orleans,  1885.  The  most  important  history  of  Louisiana  for 
the  period,  making  good  use  of  the  documentary  sources.  The 
use  of  the  Claiborne  Correspondence  largely  removes  the  necessity 
of  citing  Gayarre. 

4.  Chittenden.  History  of  the  American  Fur  Trade,  2  vols., 
New  York,  1898  (?).  A  valuable  study  based  largely  on  manu- 
script sources.     Little  used,  however,  in  this  work. 

5.  Wheeler,  Olin  D.  The  Trail  of  Lczvis  and  Clark,  2  vols.. 
New  York,  1904.  A  valuable  popular  contribution  to  Louisiana 
Centenary  Literature. 

6.  Thwaites,  R.  G.  Rocky  Mountain  Exploration,  New  York, 
1903.  A  brief,  concise  summary  of  western  exploration — a  schol- 
arly synopsis,  yet  written  in  a  popular  vein.  ^ 

7.  Dellenbaugh,  F.  The  Breaking  of  the  Wilderness,  New 
York,  1904.  An  interesting  popular  account  of  western  explora- 
tion. The  literary  style  is  good,  but  occasional  details  arc  ;. ac- 
curate. 


160 


ERRATA 


Pag-e      9,   "contient"  should  read  "continent". 

Page    16,   "  ig-ominiously  "  should  read  "  ig-nomimously  ". 

Pag-e    18,   *'  betnween  "  should  read  "  between". 

Page    18,   "  authentic"  should  read  "authentic". 

Page    21,   "  approapriation"  should  read  "  appropriation". 

Page    60,   "  suah  "  should  read  "  such  ". 

Page    73,   "  Commanches  "  should  read  "  Comanches  ". 

Page    90,   "  rmaining  "  should  read  "  remaining  ". 

Page  100,  "different"  should  read  "difficult". 

Page  101,  "welcome"  should  read  "welcomed". 


^^^T!m!/£SSS^^:L!i 


YC  58288     I 


